


Cherry Blossoms

by orphan_account



Series: The Magical Life of Hana Yukimura [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Betrayal, China, Chinese Character, Dead People, F/M, Family Member Death, Fantastic Racism, First War with Voldemort, Gen, Japan, Japanese Character(s), Japanese Culture, Killing, Loss, Loss of Parent(s), Mass Death, Multi, Murder, Parent Death, Post-First War with Voldemort, Rise of Voldemort, Temporarily Unrequited Love, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-10-25 21:20:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 25
Words: 48,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20730926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The Japanese sakura trees bloom, but Hana is nowhere near them. She's in England, far from home, and in the midst of a growing and impending war. Lord Voldemort threatens the lives of many, but Hana is safe at Hogwarts, setting herself up to be the best student in her year, and hoping to recover some of the magic she'd lost as a child. Granted, she's still a child, and there is still much magic to be gained... or to be lost again.





	1. Dreary Days

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone!  
This is a fanfiction that I've been working on for my account on Quotev, but I've finally gotten around to putting it on here. I hope you guys enjoy it!
> 
> Updates should be once a week unless otherwise specified, and if you've got any suggestions or comments or whatnot, then feel free to leave it down in the comment section.
> 
> Thanks a million,  
Mei

The water droplets fell like they simply could not think of anything better to do. There was a laziness about them as if they could barely be bothered to conform to the will of gravity. When Hana held her bare arm out of the terraced home window, the droplets that splattered on her outstretched fingers didn't stay long. They dried up and disappeared from the heat of the fireplace. But while they lingered on her skin, the droplets were large and cold, not like the soft droplets of rain from back home at all. Hana tilted her fingers upwards and watched the remnants of the drops run downwards like tiny rivers until they vanished just before they reached her elbow.

On the sidewalk ahead the uneven slabs had a rainbow sheen - all that was left of a kids game of hopscotch. The outline was still there, a ghostly shadow of what it was before the heavy rains that pounded the city this morning. Above the sky was dominated by tumbling greys, smoky and silver, but soon the sky became dark and low with ominous black clouds and the wind picked up, howling like a wolf into the night. The first crack of lightning lit up the sky and within seconds the rolling boom of the thunder reverberated overhead. The rain began falling harder than before, splattering the sidewalks haphazardly and washing away the rest of the hopscotch games. Then it fell as if from buckets, pounding on the roof as if it were demanding entrance.

Hana sighed and got up from the window seat in the living room, stepping into the kitchen to retrieve a copper pot from one of its cupboards and passing by the muggle television that was speaking of yet another random death in London. She waited a few moments until the fire had completely died down, raindrops falling inside from the ill-conceived chimney, and placed the pot in the wet ashes to capture the rain. Hana retrieved a thick patterned blanket from the couch on her way back to the window seat and continued reading after closing the window that looked out onto the lane.

While the sound of rain, broken by the rumble of thunder, was a soothing sound, Hana much preferred to be back in her village in Japan. Even after five years, the lush forested mountains and salty sea air called to her - the cold and damp streets of England never to replace them. Hana wanted to stare up at the large expanse of blue. Unlike the city she was in, that was penned in by snow-capped mountains and grey buildings, there you could see blue in every direction to the horizon, the sky even melded with the green ground where thousands of little yellow flowers littered the fields and the mountains. Hana wanted the soft singing of the field workers, she missed the way the wind whipped her hair into the air like thick smoke, her dark eyes fixated on the raging sea. She longed to run free through the rice fields again, drink some tea on the sunny porch of her home, or even just see a field of green for once. Hana was tired of reading the same books over and over again, and as she watched her father return from work at the Ministry of Magic, all she could think of was how much she'd rather see her mother walking through that door, smelling like the sakura trees that bloomed in their old backyard. But that would never happen. Umeko Yukimura had died five years ago.

"How was your day?" Akira asked his daughter, perfunctorily.  
"It was okay," she said quietly, eyes still glued to her book.  
"You got a letter in the mail."

Akira had set it on the kitchen table by the time Hana managed to untangle herself from her blanket.

If there was one thing that was keeping her alive, it was the notion that eventually, she would be getting her acceptance letter from Hogwarts, and that she could occupy herself with magical theory and spells rather than watching English children running down the sidewalk.

Hana snatched the letter from the table and her eyes scanned it immediately. She didn't waste time in ripping the envelope open to read the list of provisions and equipment, skipping over the neat green cursive of the introduction letter from the Deputy Head-Mistress, Minerva McGonagall.

Hana sat back in the sofa and let the happiness soak right into her bones. From here on out, she wanted the feeling to still be there when she was old. She closed her eyes and savoured the moment, but never released her grip on the seemingly inconsequential piece of paper and ink in her hands. For the first time in forever her body and mind relaxed.

"_Otōsan_, can we go get my supplies today? I can start studying immediately if we do."  
"I have a lot of work to do," Akira called from somewhere in the house. "You're old enough to go on your own, right? Take the Gringotts key from my office."  
"Yes, _Otōsan_," Hana sighed.

The girl lumbered up to her father's office and took a small golden key from one of his desk's drawers, then wandered back downstairs. She took a few quarters from the key bowl and shrugged on her coat, pulling an umbrella from the closet as she left. The rain fell hard, and Hana attempted to ignore it as she waited for the next bus at the end of the street. After ten minutes in the rain, Hana hopped onto the red city bus and sat close to the front, watching the turns and the streets the driver was taking to pass the time.

She ran into the rain again a half-hour later, but only for a few seconds until she was inside the Leaky Cauldron. She weaved her way through the drunk masses and the thick smoke all the war to the bar where she said hello to Tom, and asked him to open up the gate for her. The barman took her to the back and after a few short taps on a brick wall, the gate to Diagon Alley opened up. Hana thanked the barman and went through.

The rain had let up by then, or maybe it was clear skies only for Diagon Alley by some form of enchantment. Hana took a look at her list again and began her trek through the streets.

A dim light shone on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. _Cauldrons – All Sizes – Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver – Self-Stirring – Collapsible_ said a sign hanging over them. Hana sometimes wished she had more eyes to look at everything. She turned her head in every direction as she walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, 'Dragon liver, seventeen Sickles an ounce, they’re mad...' A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying _Eeylops Owl Emporium – Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown and Snowy_. Several boys of about Hana's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Hana had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills and rolls of parchment, potion bottles and globes of the moon.

A short ways away was a very crooked building with a white marble facade. The first floor tilted to the left, the second to the right, but the interior was as straight as a bullet, with Goblins handling piles upon piles of gold and silver. Hana made her way to the end of the hall and to the main desk which stood at twice her height. She cleared her throat to get the Goblin's attention, but he didn't move.

"I'm sorry, I've come a very long way, Sir, and I'd very much like to access my father's vault."

The Goblin looked down at her.

"Very well."

The Goblin called for another who was holding a large lantern. Hana handed him her key and they walked down a corridor where the lantern was to be used as a headlight for a very rickety looking mining cart. She and the Goblin got in and the cart jolted forward, going down a twisting and turning metal track. After passing a waterfall of all things, they stopped at a vault labelled 523, which the Goblin unlocked, granting Hana access to her father's respectable amount of funds. She filled her loose change pouch with a few handfuls of galleons and then returned to the surface and onto the bustling cobblestone street. The girl checked her list again. Seeing the amount of things she had to buy, Hana opted to go buy herself a bigger backpack than she had at home.

"A nice leather one ought to do the trick," she muttered to herself.

With that purchase out of the way, Hana made her way to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions to get herself fitted for her robes. While the jovial woman was talking to herself, Hana kept glancing to the dull greys of the Hogwarts Uniform, and she ached to wear the colourful robes that they offered at Mahoutokoro. She wondered if she'd be allowed to embroider something on the hems to make them more colourful.

Hana parted with a few galleons and left the shop with a new uniform that fit her exactly. The closest shop that she needed to visit was Flourish and Blotts, and so she purchased all of the necessary books and stationery that she'd need throughout the year, even splurging on a nicer quill to write with. Before leaving she asked one of the shop keepers to place an extension charm on her bag so that all her books would fit, and they gladly did after she'd promised to buy all her reading material from them. On her way to Ollivander's, she passed by the Magical Menagerie. She knew her father might straight-up murder her for it, but Hana couldn't resist the beautiful blue eyes of the cat splayed out in the shop's window display.

Moments later, Haru the Tonkinese cat was walking beside Hana down the street, and they entered Ollivanders together. With a lazy meow, Haru settled himself by the shop's window and waited as Hana waltzed up to the counter. She ran a small silver bell, and out of the back came a man with greying hair and bright blue eyes. He smiled at her, and for some reason, Hana was weary of it.

"Well, hello there. What's your name?" he said in a soft voice.  
"Hana Yukimura," the girl replied confidently.  
"Yukimura, Yukimura... I don't think I know that name."  
"I came from Japan five years ago, so that's normal."  
"Japan, eh? I wonder if my good old British wands will suit you..."

They tried wand after wand, but nothing was truly working. Hana ended up making a few jars explode, some books fly off shelves, even made something in the back of the store whistle a constant high-pitched noise.

"I do own a few Eastern-made wands sent to me by a dear friend... perhaps I could part with one."  
"Oh, no, I could not possibly!"  
"Hush now, it would be of more use to you than it is to me, sitting in its box at the very back of my shop," Ollivander said, heading towards the furthest part of his establishment and picking out a box from the very bottom shelf. "It is made of Cherry wood, with a Kappa scale core. Give it a wave, will you?"

Hana observed the patterned wood wand for a moment before picking it up, but even before waving it she felt a rush of warmth go through her body and a light wind tousled her dark hair. She blinked a few times, looking directly at the wand, then up at Ollivander who was smiling softly.

"I told you it would be of better use in your hands."  
"Why didn't any other wand work? Is it because I am not from here?"  
"The wand chooses the wizard, Hana. It is hard to say why this particular wand chose you, but Cherry is a rare wand wood that does some terrifyingly great magic in the right... or wrong hands."  
"Fascinating," Hana muttered. She reached into her jacket and pulled out her pouch of money. "How much do I owe you, Mr Ollivander?"  
"Oh, please, if I had made it myself there would have been a price tag on it, but since it was given to me, I couldn't possibly charge you for it."  
"Wait, so, you are giving me a wand? For free?"  
"I suppose that I am."

Hana grinned and thanked the shopkeeper a million times before stuffing her wand into her boot and waltzing out the shop, Haru on her heels. The rest of the equipment was easy to find and quick to purchase until they got to the apothecary to stock up on basic potion ingredients. There was an infinite amount of different potion ingredients, all labelled and waiting to be weighted behind the counter of the shop. Hana listed off the ingredients and the amounts that she needed and wandered the shop as she waited, staring at jars filled with grotesque creatures and objects, which enlarged or shrunk depending on the angle you looked at them.

Hana heard a bell, signalling that someone else had entered the shop. She heard a few words in a familiar foreign language and then some shuffling, which ended up being a boy her age being shoved out of the way by what looked like to be his mother. Immediately, the woman began demanding service despite the shopkeeper being with Hana's order. She pulled a face at the woman and walked up to the counter.

"I'm afraid the shopkeeper is busy with my order, ma'am, so there is no point in yelling at him. If you're this impatient, you can go to the apothecary on Knockturn Alley, it's rarely busy this time of day."

The woman huffed and silenced herself. Hana smiled and returned to the shelves she was perusing only to find the boy nearby laughing quietly.

"Should you be laughing? Isn't that your mother?" Hana asked, an eyebrow raised.  
"Sorry, I just don't get to see many people go against her in any way," the boy said softly, looking over his shoulder. "If they do it's usually my brothers and they get hit with a wooden spoon."  
"A wooden spoon?"  
"Yeah, Chinese mothers, you know?"  
"No, I don't know. I'm Japanese, I got hit with a sushi rolling mat."  
"Don't know what's worse." He looked at the supplies she was carrying. "Going to Hogwarts?"  
"Yes. And so are you, I imagine," Hana said. She held out a hand. "Hana Yukimura."  
"Noah Xiang," the boy replied, shaking her hand.

The shopkeeper called out to Hana. She turned back to Noah before leaving.

"I look forward to seeing you around Hogwarts, Noah."


	2. Hogwarts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter updates will be Mondays or Tuesdays every week.  
Since today's Monday, have another chapter to tide you over until next time.
> 
> xxx  
Mei

Haru meowed lazily as he wandered through King's Cross station, weaving through hundreds of pairs of legs. He was Hana's only company as she made her way to Platform 9 ¾, as her father had 'important business to attend to' early this morning. However, Hana was going to be late if she didn't shake off the security guard trying to catch Haru. Apparently, loose cats in a train station was a violation of certain codes the girl wasn't aware of nor cared about. A mirthful laugh made it's way to everyone's ears as Hana ran across the uneven tiles, pushing her trolley ahead of her, it's left front wheel creaking as it went. And when she and Haru crossed the barrier, running straight through the wall between the muggle platforms nine and ten, the girl let out a satisfied sigh and slowed to a jog.

In striking contrast to Britain's National Rail system, the Hogwarts Express took the form of a large red, steam engine. Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every colour wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks. Hana reached into her pocket and gave Haru a small treat before whispering something to him, then he climbed into the train and out of sight. Hana smiled, satisfied, then turned to the man who was loading trunks underneath the train, and slid him her own, keeping a few items with her for the journey. She smiled at him before running off towards the entrance to the locomotive.

The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. A boy with bright red hair was surrounded by a small crowd. He lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg. Hana chuckled and pressed on through the crowd until she found an empty compartment near the end of the train. She sat down next to the window and pulled out her cloak from her messenger bag, as well as half a dozen spools of wool in various colours. With the reply to the acceptance letter, Hana had asked if she was allowed to do some embroidery on the edges of her uniform. She would start with tracing and the colour white, as the person who responded to her told her to not use colour until she was sorted into her house. Then she'd be able to use the colours which represented her house.

A whistle sounded and the train began to move. Hana could hear the last of the compartment doors slide and slam shut, but hers slid open. She lifted her white chalk pencil and looked up towards the door.

"Hello, Noah!" she beamed, bowing slightly out of habit.

The boy looked up from the ground as if seeing her for the first time, dark eyes wide in near panic. He stood in the doorway catching his breath for short while until someone outside bumped into him and he stumbled inside. Hana looked around him and at the amount of students running around like maniacs and sighed. No wonder Noah was exhausted. Getting through all that must've been quite a workout. 

"Hey Hana," Noah said softly.  
"Have you read any of the books we got for school?"

Noah nodded, and Hana's eyes brightened.

"What are you most excited for? Personally, I can't wait for Potions and Transfiguration, oh and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Maybe Charms? Bloody hell, I'm just excited."  
"I'm looking forward to Transfiguration, too. It's probably the hardest branch of magic, and I need to prove to my parents that Hogwarts is just as good as Mahoutokoro."  
"Mahoutokoro? You weren't born here?"  
"Yeah, but my older brothers weren't. Two of my brothers went to Mahoutokoro and graduated. Jim started there, but he's in his fifth year at Hogwarts now."

While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London, and they were now speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick pass or Hana's beginnings of embroidery. Around half-past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door.

"Anything off the cart, dears?" she said.

The kids got a bit of everything, deciding it was the best opportunity to eat all the sweets they wanted because surely they didn't serve this kind of stuff at mealtimes. Noah and Hana spent another few hours gobbling down pumpkin pasties, little cakes, chocolate frogs and even some every flavour beans, which were every flavour - Hana had bitten into the corner of an earwax flavoured bean.

The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills. Someone's cat was hissing outside the compartment, and Hana looked at it just in time to see a young boy run after it, disappearing down the hall. She chuckled.

An announcement rang across the train, signalling their arrival in less than a half-hour. Hana and Noah looked outside. It was getting dark. They could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. Hana finished her row of white stitching, staring at it proudly, then put away all her thread and needles back into her bag. It wasn't long after that that the train began to slow down and another announcement told the old and new students to leave all their luggage in the train, for it would be brought to their dormitories for them. Noah and Hana swung on their cloaks as the train came to a full stop. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Hana shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students.

"First years! First years over here!" said a rather large old man. "C'mon, follow me - any more first years? Mind your step, now! First years follow me!"

Slipping and stumbling, all the first-year students followed the man who'd later introduced himself as Ogg, the Keeper of Keys and Grounds, down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Hana thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much, but there was a collective sound of amazement when they finally saw Hogwarts castle. The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black take. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

"No more than four to a boat!" Ogg called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Noah and Hana were followed into their boat by two students who'd introduced themselves as Remus Lupin and Mary MacDonald. "Everyone in? Right then - FORWARD!"

And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood. As they reached the cliff, the students all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbour, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles. They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, Oak front door which was knocked three times by Ogg.

The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Hana's first thought was that this was not someone to cross in the slightest. She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of Hana's house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors. They followed Professor McGonagall, as Ogg had called her, across the flagstone floor. Hana could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right, but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously. Though the little Japanese girl was rather excited. Finally, things were getting interesting.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.  
"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.  
"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered for a moment on Noah's untamed hair.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."

She left the chamber.

"How exactly do they sort us?" Hana asked, looking over to Noah, who was trying to flatten his hair. "Is it some sort of test?"  
"I don't think so. My brother said it involved some kind of song, though."

McGonagall soon returned and demanded the students form a line. Hana stood behind Noah and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall. Hana's grin widened, if that was even possible, as she could have never imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first-years up there so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Noah looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He nudged Hana and she looked up as well.

Though she quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth -- and the hat began to sing:

Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffis are true  
And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
if you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folk use any means  
To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again. Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Aubrey, Bertram!"

A pink-faced boy with blond hair stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over his eyes, and sat down. There was a moments pause, where the hat and the boy whispered to each other, and then it shouted _Hufflepuff_ in a loud voice. The table on the right cheered and clapped as Bertram went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Hana saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.

"Black, Sirius!"

Hana didn't quite understand why everyone was whispering this boy's name as he walked up to the stool and put on the hat. He had striking grey eyes and lustrous black hair, and a confident smirk on his face, which only grew when the Sorting Hat shouted _Gryffindor_, much to the outrage of Slytherin and shock of everyone else. Gryffindor House welcomed him warmly. 

"Bones, Amelia!"

Once again, the hat shouted _Hufflepuff_, and Amelia scuttled off to sit next to Bertram.

"Boot, David!"

_Ravenclaw_, the hat called. The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with David as he joined them. _Brocklehurst, Olivia_ went to Ravenclaw too, but _Brown, Kelly_ became the next new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers. _Bulstrode, Alfia_ then became a Slytherin. Another Hufflepuff was sorted, but this one took a little longer than the others. That last one had sad a full minute on the stool before he was sorted. The was another handful of students before a name she recognised was called.

"Lupin, Remus!"

The timid boy stepped up to the stool and sat down. He was taller than every one Hana had seen so far and far more shabby than anyone else as well. Maybe it had something to do with the few scars that littered his face. The hat declared him a Gryffindor, and the look of relief that washed over his face made Hana smile. The Gryffindor table greeted him warmly and he took a seat beside Sirius Black. A few moments later, and after a few more names, Noah's name was called, and he was promptly placed into Ravenclaw. Seconds later, Hana's heart skipped a beat.

"Yukimura, Hana!"

Hana practically skipped up to the stool, earning a few odd looks from those remaining to sort. The girl sat down and pulled the hat over her head, which fell just above her eyes. She felt the hat jerk to life, and a rough whisper made its way to her ears.

"Japanese, I see. That's unusual... Interesting, interesting," it muttered. Hana wondered if the students in front of her could hear the Hat speak. "Oh, what's this? Such tragedy in your past... It drives you and your ambition - you'd do quite well in Slytherin."  
"Really?" Hana muttered to herself, a little worried.  
"Yes, of course. Worried are you? I am rarely wrong you see."  
"I'm not worried, but is Slytherin _really_ my only option?"  
"I suppose not," the Hat grumbled, almost despite itself. "Your mind is far brighter than many minds I've met tonight, and you crave to distinguish yourself from others... you want knowledge, yes, but you've got mischief running through you as well..."  
"See, clearly there were other options. Can't just put people in the box they initially fit can you?"  
"Shut it, girl. I know just where to put you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's your guess?  
Will Hana be in Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin?


	3. House of...

"Ravenclaw!"

Hana almost tore off the Sorting Hat and jumped when it shouted her new house's name. Wit, intelligence, wisdom, creativity, originality and acceptance - these were the traits that the Sorting Hat found in her, and the traits she was most proud to have. A smile broke across her face and the Ravenclaw table erupted into a volcano of cheers. She bounced off the stool when McGonagall took off the hat, and she confidently waltzed over to the Ravenclaw table, as if she was bursting with liquid sunshine from within. There were many pats on the back and dozens of handshakes when Hana finally reached the table of black and blue robes. She sat down next to Noah immediately, and her smile didn't dim a single bit for the rest of the night. 

At last, with all the children at their seats, Hana could see the Head Table. In the centre of the High Table, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore. The girl recognized him at once from the chocolate frog cards she'd unwrapped in the train. Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away, then took a seat beside the Headmaster. Hana looked down at her empty gold plate and her stomach growled. She had only just realized how hungry she was. The pumpkin pasties and other sweets seemed ages ago. Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.

"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. Teaching is only demonstrating what is possible. Learning is making it possible for yourself. Enjoy!"

Hana smiled as he sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. All of a sudden, the dishes in front of the Ravenclaws were now piled with food. She had never seen so many things to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs. Hana and Noah looked up at each other, wide-eyed and smiling, and took a bit of everything. Though Noah left out the peppermint humbugs.

"So, it's Hana Yukimura, right?" a Ravenclaw over to her left said. He had shoulder-length white hair the texture of candy floss and seemed slightly cross-eyed. "That's an unusual name."  
"It's Japanese," Hana said after swallowing a big bite of lamb. "And you are?"  
"Japanese! Uh, no, I'm Xenophilius Lovegood!"

Xenophilius stood up with his plate and squeezed himself between another Ravenclaw girl and Noah.

"Tell me, did you ever see any Kappa or did you go to Mahoutokoro?"  
"Uh, no and no."  
"Shame," Xenophilius said sadly, getting up and returning to his original seat.

Hana turned to Noah and pulled a face, which made him laugh. They kept the conversation going between themselves, until someone overheard her talking about her hometown, and then suddenly more and more people joined in. They all talked through supper, and when it was over and dessert had been served, the conversation moved to their heritage.

"I'm a boring old Pure-Blood," Hana said, mouth full.  
"I'm a Pure-blood too," Noah said. "My mother isn't a big fan of muggles. I'm more like my dad though - he likes muggles."  
"Half-Blood, myself," another said.  
"Muggle-born, here!"

Then the conversation was interrupted by Dumbledore, who announced that there was no magic allowed in the hallways unless it was for studying, the Dark Forest was forbidden unless the students wanted to die and that Quidditch trials were to be held in a fortnight. Hana was disappointed when Xenophilius told her first years weren't allowed on the Quidditch team. She hadn't the faintest idea how to fly, but playing Quidditch was one of the things she'd imagined doing at Hogwarts. Then the Ravenclaw Prefect, Christopher Garott, demanded that all Ravenclaw rise from their seats and follow him to their new Common Room.

The Ravenclaw and the Gryffindor followed each other most of the way, out of the Great Hall and up the marble staircase, which allowed Hana and Noah to converse with Remus and Mary, the two students they'd shared a boat with earlier. Then they split off into opposite directions and climbed more staircases, all the while staring at talking and moving portraits of witches and wizards. Then they climbed a set of spiral stairs, and at the end of it was a big oak door with a decent sized eagle-shaped knocker. Garott took the knocker and banged twice, which made the Eagle's beak move with spoken words.

"I am the black child of a white father, a wingless bird, flying even to the clouds of heaven. I give birth to tears of mourning in pupils that meet me, even though there is no cause for grief, and at once on my birth, I am dissolved into air. What am I?"

Hana frowned for a moment as Garott turned to everyone and asked them to answer. This was always going to be the way to enter the Common Room, and while quite amusing, Hana found it impractical if she ever needed to rush in and out. She'd have to double-check all her things before leaving the Tower.

"Smoke?" Noah said tentatively.  
"Of course," the knocker said, and then the door swung open.

Hana's dark eyes opened wide at the sight of the Ravenclaw Common Room. It was a wide, circular room, airier than any the girl had seen so far at Hogwarts, even more so than the Great Hall. Graceful arched windows punctuated the walls, from which were hung blue and bronze silks: by day, the Ravenclaws would have a spectacular view of the lake and surrounding mountains. The ceiling was domed and painted with stars, which were echoed in the midnight-blue carpet. There were tables, chairs and bookcases, and in a niche opposite the door stood a tall statue of white marble. Garott directed the boys and girls to a door beside the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw which lead up to their dormitories which, much to Hana's surprise, weren't separated by gender. Hana and Noah were lucky enough to be in the same dorm room, and they would share it alongside twins named Tulip and Violet, as well as a boy named Nathan. Apparently, a Ravenclaw student a few decades ago managed to remove the enchantment on the stairs, and the school simply left it that way.

Hana's things had already been placed inside their room, beside a beautiful white four-poster bed adorned with sheets and delicate draperies of different shades of blue. Haru was lying lazily on her bed, purring softly after receiving a few scratches on his head from Noah. Hana began to unpack her clothes and stuffed them into a small wardrobe at the end of her bed. She pulled out a single picture frame from her trunk and gently placed the picture of her mother on the deep windowsill next to her bed. Hana lit a few candles that she'd brought with her, and said a few words to her mother before letting out a long yawn. The excitement of today had turned into sleepiness, and the soft sounds of Haru purring were putting her to sleep. So, Hana pulled out her pyjamas and headed to the adjacent bathroom to slip them on and brush her teeth before she climbed into her comfy bed. She said goodnight to Noah and the others, then closed the draperies, and soon they all fell into a deep comfortable sleep.

The next morning at the Ravenclaw table, as Hana and Noah ate their porridge and blueberries, they were handed their timetables. Noah wondered how they were going to get to all their classes on time, considering some classes - which were right after the other - we on opposite sides of the castle. It didn't help that Xenophilius told them that there were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump; some doors wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. Hana chuckled at all the unusual information being given to her, but it seemed to worry Noah more than anything, who was afraid of getting lost.

"Don't worry, I have an impeccable sense of direction," Hana reassured him. "You need it when your only point of reference is a rice paddy that looks exactly like the last."

The two friends noticed, as they headed to their first class, Charms, that the people in the portraits kept going to visit each other, and Noah was sure the coats of armour could walk and talk, and he hoped that they sang once in a while to create confusion. He found that the ghosts weren't all that helpful either; it was a nasty shock when one of them glided through a door you were trying to open. They'd experienced Peeves the Poltergeist on their way to class as well, and he was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase, at the very least. Apparently, preying on the first-years on their first day was a favourite pastime of his, but one of the older Hufflepuff on their way to class called for the Bloody Baron, Slytherin's House ghost, and Peeves was gone in a flash. Hana made a mental note of that.

The Charms classroom was rather spacious, with high vaulted ceilings and a large arched window that looked out onto the grounds. The centre of the classroom was cleared out, and the desks were lined against the wall like bleachers, facing each other. At the end of the class was a desk with dozens of piles of books surrounding it. Standing on one of those piles was the new Ravenclaw Head of House, Professor Filius Flitwick. He was very short, most likely due to Goblin ancestry in his family, Hana thought, and he wore a sharp black suit, with glasses hanging at the tip of his nose. Hana and Noah sat beside a boy she'd recognised as Sirius Black, and he was avidly talking to a boy with unkempt black hair that could rival Noah's.

"Welcome, welcome - Ravenclaws and Gryffindors!" the professor squeaked. "Welcome to Charms where you will learn everything from Levitation to the Knockback Jinx in your first year."

Professor Flitwick continued, and Hana was eager to begin learning, but the two boys beside her didn't seem to care.

"Oi, you reckon he's a midget?" one of them said.  
"Come on, obviously he's part Goblin," the other answered.  
"D'you think she knows? She's a Ravenclaw - must be smart."  
"Oi, you."

Hana felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to face Sirius Black.

"D'you know if he's a midget or part Goblin?"  
"I think he's part Goblin," Hana replied smartly. "Of course, I don't actually know - I haven't asked him."  
"Hm, fair enough. Hey, Prof--"  
"Don't ask that now, _baka_!"


	4. Classes

Hana and Noah's Charms class went by quickly. They'd begun studying the theory for the Levitation Charm and the Wand Lighting Spell, both looking quite simple to the pair of Ravenclaws. Their Head of House, the part-Goblin as it were, seemed like a splendid little man, favouring his students only a little over the Gryffindors. The only exception would be for the two boys beside her - he didn't seem too fond of them. Hana had to dodge several paper balls thrown by the boy with messy hair when Flitwick wasn't looking. However, when one of them hit Noah on the side of the head, Hana chucked the ball of paper at the teacher and blamed it on the boys. It earned her a few grumbles from them, but Noah found it funny.

Transfiguration class was next, and Hana had to endure the two boys all the way to class. However, Hana was lucky that the Transfiguration teacher favoured no one, even though she was the Gryffindor's Head of House. Minerva McGonagall didn't let a single paper ball fly past her without it burning in midair, and she'd already given the two boys detention on their first day. They didn't seem to mind though, as they kept at it the entire class, bright smiles on their faces.

Unfortunately, Noah and Hana parted ways after that, as they didn't share the same History of Magic class. Hana's gaze wandered across the old stone walls as she made her way to Classroom 4F on the first floor where her lessons were to be held. She weaved through the crowds of students, careful not to bump into anyone, but nearly fell flat on her face when the same duo of boys barreled through the crowd and threw themselves inside the classroom she was headed to. Hana let out an audible groan. If she had any more classes with these two clowns, she'd jump off the Astronomy Tower.

Upon entering the classroom, Hana noticed the tightness of it, as it only contained enough desk space for eight students - no wonder History of Magic was separated into two groups. The walls were lined with bookshelves caked in dust, a large globe took up most of the room beside the teacher's empty desk and the blackboard was blank but horribly dusty as if no one had washed off the chalk for years. Hana sneezed, and a puff of dust swirled before her. Through it, she noticed that the two boys had taken their seats at the back, feet up on their desks. Hana rolled her eyes and spied the other students that were there. She spotted Remus' familiar face and went up to him.

"Is this seat taken?" Hana said with a charming smile.  
"Why would it be taken?" Remus replied, genuinely confused.  
"Well, maybe you're saving it for someone..?"  
"Oh! No, no I'm not - go right ahead."

Hana chuckled and seated herself beside Remus, then took out her books and quill. Students kept filing in, way beyond the capacity of eight, which led to students sitting cross-legged between rows of desks and others standing at the back of the class. It took a while for the teacher to arrive, but when he did his arrival was met with a gasp of surprise as he came through the dusty blackboard and sat at his desk. In a dreary voice, he introduced himself as Cuthbert Binns, and briefly described the subject. It seemed that, because of his death, he no longer needed to take breaths or pauses, and said everything in a continuous and confusing flow of sentences. It didn't help that he also fell asleep during those bursts of information and woke up talking about something completely different as if he'd been continuing his speech while he was asleep.

"I guess I'll have to do this class on my own then," Remus whispered beside Hana.  
"I think I might join you on that," she said, glancing at the boy. "There is no way that I'm going to sit through this and drool on my desk like Morecambe and Wise, back there."

Remus let out a chuckle.

"Oi, she thinks we're funny!"

Hana whipped her head around.

"Did your parents never teach you that eavesdropping is rude?" Hana said coolly.  
"Hey, anything is more interesting than this ghost dude," the boy with messy hair said.  
"Besides, all my parents taught me was that I had to be in Slytherin and how to hate muggles," Sirius said with a shrug.  
"Oh, is that why everyone was so surprised that you were sorted into Gryffindor?" Hana asked.

Both boys blinked stupidly at her.

"Do you really not know?" the boy said.  
"I'm Japanese. English families and their histories are unknown to me."  
"He's a Black, part of one of the most important wizarding families in England."  
"Don't look so impressed," Sirius said, seeing Hana's raised eyebrow. "The whole lot has been in Slytherin, they hate muggles and are prejudiced as hell on Blood Status."  
"Well, I don't see anything inherently wrong with Slytherin... but I guess you have a different point of view considering your experience." Hana paused and extended her hand. "Hana Yukimura"  
"Sirius Black," the boy said with a chuckle, taking her hand.  
"James Potter," the other said, stealing Hana's hand from Sirius.  
"This is Remus, by the way," Hana said, nodding over to the boy.  
"Remus Lupin," the scarred boy said with a little wave.  
"Well, Remus Lupin, Hana Yukimura - let's get the hell outta here!" James said enthusiastically, packing his things.  
"What do you think you're doing?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"Leaving. We can go find a place to study ourselves - or we can just goof off."  
"Both of those are against school rules," Remus stated, looking at Hana for backup.

However, the girl was already packing her things.

"If breaking a rule means learning something other than random bit and pieces coming from a dead man, then count me in."

With a sigh, Remus packed his things as well, and they waited until Professor Binns fell asleep again to dash out of the classroom. They ran down the halls and out into the courtyard. James and Sirius pelted down the hills, stumbling over their feet, and crashed underneath a large Beech tree by the lake. Initially, they studied, with Hana reading the appropriate chapter aloud, but then their escapade devolved into a game of twenty questions. They'd shared their favourite pastimes, the things they hated the most, and even the fact that James had already fallen in love with a girl called Lily Evans. Then their middle names followed, but the boys were outraged to find that Hana didn't have one.

"I think we'll have to give you one," James laughed.  
"You can't give me a middle name, James."  
"Of course we can! Or at least a really embarrassing nickname," Sirius added. "What's your name mean?"

Hana sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Hana means flower, and Yukimura is a combination of snow and vi--"  
"That's it! I'm calling you Snowflake from now on."  
"You can't be serious!" Hana complained. "I'm not a toddler!"

* * *

As the weeks went by, Hana befriended James, Sirius and Remus, and they seemed to enjoy hers as well. But Hana quickly found out who the Gryffindor did or didn't get along with, as they were quite vocal about it. For starters, it seemed as if they got along well with Noah, which was surprising, considering Noah preferred reading to throwing paper balls at each other from across halls or classrooms. However, he usually just ended up reading alongside Remus anyway, so it was all the same in the end, and they'd both sit back and watch the other two boys goof off or practise jinxes on each other for classes. Hana would try to get them to stop, but eventually, she'd just shake her head and laugh with them. Sometimes, Sirius would take a few brooms from the stores on the training grounds while Professor Hooch wasn't there, and they'd practise their riding, although Sirius and James were mostly just teaching Hana how to fly in a straight line.

If there was one thing Hana never quite understood is why they kept complaining about a kid they called _Snivellus_. They never wasted a moment to bash on him or to complain about him or simply express their hate towards him. Hana didn't know who this Snivellus was, and she never really asked about him either. She just didn't understand why these jovial young boys held so much hatred towards the boy. It bothered her quite a bit, but it wasn't her business. Maybe this Snivellus had actually done something bad, but still - James and Sirius were exaggerating. But the mystery boy hadn't done anything to Hana, so if she ever met him, she would probably just treat him normally.

At the moment, Hana was gathering her books for her first class of the day, which she'd piled onto her bed, and Noah was trying to get his hair to cooperate in the bathroom. So far he'd used spells and this gel that their roommate Nathan had tossed at him before leaving for his class, but nothing was working. Hana put all her basic potion ingredients into her small pewter cauldron before stuffing it down her new leather backpack, with her quills and wand on top. She sighed and playfully rolled her eyes at Noah who was still fiddling with his hair, nearly a handful of pomade on his fingertips, and walked over to him to take it all off and arrange his hair for him.

"Come on we're going to be late."  
"Yes, _mum_."  
"Really?" Hana sighed, raising an eyebrow. She turned to her feline friend. "See you later, Haru!"

Hana left the room as Haru let out a lazy meow, and Noah gathered his things then followed her out. They walked down the spiral staircases and down to the main hall, where they made their way to the Viaduct Entrance and then the access to the dungeons. The duo went down a long, poorly lit spiral staircase that still made Hana anxious even though she'd been going down it for almost two months now, and they came upon the equally gloomy dungeon hall. After a few steps, and to their left, was the entrance to the potions room. The room was brighter than the rest of the dungeons, something for which Hana was grateful, and the soft dripping of water could be heard if the class was completely silent. Hana and Noah immediately saw the very large Horace Slughorn at the front of the class, and they took their usual spot behind Lily Evans and Severus Snape. Moments later, the bell rang.

"Good morning, everyone!" Slughorn said jovially.  
"Good morning, Professor Slughorn," the class replied in various degrees of enthusiasm.  
"Well, that won't do! Try again."  
"Good morning, Professor Slughorn!" everyone repeated more joyfully, though most faces including Hana's and Noah's expressed complete impassiveness.  
"Much better, much better!"

Hana raised an eyebrow as she stared at the man's moustache. It seemed more alive than usual, this morning.

"Our last class we reviewed the boring technicalities of the Herbicide Potion, but today we will be needing our wands, cauldrons and some of the Standard Ingredient for our brewing, so take those out of your bags, please. We will be making the Herbicide potion today. Can anyone remind me the ingredients?"

Hana lazily rose her hand, head held in the other. Noah rose his hand high up, desperate to prove his intelligence. Lily rose her hand, and for a moment seemed to be telling Severus to do the same, but he never did. A few other students rose their hands, but Slughorn glanced right over them.

"Yes, Miss Evans?"  
"Flobberworm mucus, Horklump juice, Lionfish spines and Standard Ingredient, sir," Lily said.  
"Correct! Five points to Gryffindor," Slughorn smiled. "Now the potion is brewed in two parts, so go to page 26 of your books and begin! The stores are open and available to you - but no wasting! Share if you have too much."

As usual, Hana gathered the ingredients for both herself and Noah, while he brought out their books and opened them to page 26 of Magical Drafts and Potions. Hana put eight Lionfish spines into the mortar and Noah added a few measures of Liquid Potion Starter to both their cauldrons. She stared at the extra Lionfish spines she had taken; why she'd grabbed a handful without thinking was beyond her - maybe it had to do with the fact someone smelled like wet dog over by the stores. Hana looked up and between Lily and Severus, then poked the boy's shoulder with the tip of her wand. He turned around rather sharply.

"I have some extra Lionfish spines left over. I noticed you hadn't gotten yours yet."

Lily turned and thanked her brightly, and Severus nodded silently taking the Lionfish spines from Hana. She smiled kindly and lowered her gaze back to her book for the next step. Noah was already crushing Standard Ingredient in his mortar, turning it into a rough powder, and the spines into a fine one. Hana then added three measures of the powder in each of their cauldrons once the liquid was bubbling. The powder melted into the clear liquid, turning it a strange shade of moss green, and then the two waved their wands over their cauldron in the correct manner before leaving their potion to brew until it was a forest green.

Hana and Noah spent the next ten minutes cleaning their station, and the remaining brewing time reading ahead in the textbook or simply talking. Slughorn wandered around the desks, looking into cauldrons and pulling faces at things that were incorrect or simply backing away from things, like the potion of a certain Hufflepuff that was close to exploding. When he wandered over to Lily's and Severus' cauldrons, he made no face, and he did the same for Hana and Noah's, which either meant it was good or horrible. It was a fifty-fifty shot, although Hana learned that if her potion was the same colour as Severus' usually it was good.

"All right, resume your brewing!" Slughorn called to the class.

Noah passed the Horklump juice to Hana after he'd taken some, and she added two measures of it to her cauldron. It was supposed to turn a deep shade of brown, but it didn't seem dark enough to Hana, so she added more until it was the correct shade. She noted in her textbook to add another half measure. Then she turned up the heat and simmered the concoction for ten seconds before reducing the heat and adding two blobs of Flobberworm mucus. She glanced over at Noah who'd gotten some mucus on his hands and was trying to fling it off without success - Slughorn passed by and removed it with a charm, sighing. Then he went over to speak avidly with a Slytherin called Rosier.

Noah rolled his eyes and stirred his potion four times, clockwise, as did Hana. Slughorn was the Head of Slytherin House, and although he didn't favour his own students over the other Houses, there were students which he preferred over any other because of either their preexisting fame, rich and noteworthy parents or a rare talent in any Hogwarts subject he deemed worthy. Hana had heard a few Ravenclaw speak of him and a club he'd created, the Slug Club, where students 5th year and above would be invited to lavish dinners and praised for whatever reason. In any case, it was annoying to see him spend so much time with certain students but barely glance at others.

The time for finishing their potions soon came, so Noah and Hana waved their wands over their potions one last time. The concoctions last bubbles rose to the top just before they ladled some of the contents into a few crystal phials and placed them in the small phial holder that was provided for examination. As usual, Hana peeked at Severus' potion. Their colours matched - that'd be another 'O' under her belt.

"All right, everyone! It seems that you've all managed to brew a potion of Acceptable quality or higher, except for you mister Jones - I don't know why your brew keeps combusting, I'm afraid. Leave the displayed phials to me, and I will grade them alongside half a parchment on the Herbicide potion that you will hand in next week."

The bell rang and most students filed out of the classroom. Noah had another class to go to, so Hana refused to let him help clean up and did it herself so he wouldn't be late - because he'd likely get lost again. Hana cleaned up the mortars and pestles, as well as both cauldrons which she placed in her bag - thank god for that undetectable extension charm. The work table was spotless in under ten minutes, and the girl swung her bag over her shoulders, grabbed her book and exited the classroom as well. She tried to stuff her wand down her robes as she walked down the gloomy corridor, but of course, looking down at your robes wasn't a very good way to see where you were going. It took only a few seconds for the person she crashed into to lean forward enough for all the things they were holding to crash to the ground. Books spread everywhere, as did rolls of parchment and a few quills.

"Ah! _Gomen'nasai_!" Hana gasped, stuffing her wand in whatever pocket she did and launching herself to the ground to pick up what she'd knocked. Despite the tremor in her hand, Hana easily stacked a heavy pile of books and stood, facing the person she'd bumped into. "Here, I'm sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going."  
"Oh, it's you," Severus said in a slightly condescending tone.

Anger seemed to disappear from his face as he saw Hana, and he bent over and picked up the rest of his things, stuffing them in his bag.

"What is with that tone? I said I was sorry and I got your books," Hana said in a critical tone.  
"What's up with your hand?" Severus said in an equally critical tone.

Hana looked down to her hand and quickly hid it in her robes.

"That's none of your business."

Severus huffed and walked off. She stared at the back of his head, indignant, and roughly exhaled through her nose. She stormed back up to Severus, following him.

"You know, since you hang out with Lily Evans, I thought you were all right," she stated. "Clearly, you're just a prick."  
"And maybe you're just a dumb Jap," Severus said sharply. Hana gasped. "Struck a nerve, did I?"  
"It is statistically impossible for my nerves to be struck by you, Snape."  
"You have no way of proving that."  
"You have no way of disproving that."

Snape sighed, annoyed.

"I don't have time for this. I'm going to be late."  
"Hey, don't turn your back on me," Hana complained.  
"You're mad if you think I'll be late to my class on account of besting you in an argument."  
"You can't best me in an argument, Snape," Hana stated simply.  
"Fine. I can't win an argument against you. Satisfied?" Severus said, annoyed.   
"No. You're just giving up. That's no fun."  
"Fun? You're mad."

Hana chuckled.

"Of course. And you're a grumpy old man."  
"I'm 11."  
"Not in your soul, you aren't."  
"All right!" Severus said loudly in exasperation. He turned to Hana just as they arrive to his class. "You win, Yukimura. My class is here, and I have no further interest in arguing with you today."  
"Good, then we'll pick this up in Herbology tomorrow," Hana said, a wry smile on her face.  
"Excuse me? I said I didn't want to argue any further."  
"Yes, but you seem like the type to enjoy arguing. Besides, you said you didn't want to argue anymore _today_. Therefore, we'll continue this debacle tomorrow." Hana began walking away, backwards and still facing the boy. "You have an engagement, Mr Snape - don't be late."


	5. The Accusations Fly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Lovelies~  
This is a special reminder that while I'm learning Korean, I don't speak Japanese or Chinese, so I use an online translator for all the native speech. If there's something wrong and you want to correct me, go for it! I'll gladly take the information and correct my story.  
Thanks a mil'  
xxx

Hana learned the hard way that rude awakenings weren't simply things you found in books or movies. It became rather clear, over the course of a few weeks, that Tulip and Violet didn't get along much if they spent too much time together, and mornings, where Violet woke up earlier than usual, were the occasions where Hana was woken up to the sounds of arguing girls trying to share a bathroom. This morning, as she turned to her side to look into the bathroom, Hana was even graced with the spectacle of hair pulling and angry jumping and stomping, which oddly reminded her of the mating dance of the cranes from back home in Japan.

Hana only rose from her bed once the girls were heading out of the dormitory, the sounds of bickering disappearing behind the closed doors. She groaned and sat up, stretching her limbs before shutting herself up in the bathroom for a quick shower and to change into her uniform. By the time she'd exited the bathroom, Noah and their roommate Nathan had already changed into their uniforms, and the both of them were attempting to once again tame Noah's hair. However, out of annoyance, Nathan ended up simply ruffling it.

"Doesn't it look better all messed up, Yukimura?"

Hana looked up from her poorly fastened necktie and to Noah's messy hair. She narrowed her eyes a little, contemplating.

"I don't disagree. The crazy bedhead suits you."  
"See? There you go. Now I can save money on hair gel."  
"Wait, Nathan-"

Noah's pleas went unanswered though, as the boy simply shrugged and walked out the door. Noah groaned and hung his head back. Hana chuckled lightly, earning herself a glare from her friend.

"This isn't funny. My hair is a rat's nest and it needs to be tamed. If my mother was here--"  
"But she isn't here, Noah. Embrace the madness."  
"Okay, fine, but if James says anything about me emulating his 'style', I'm going to cry."

Hana rose her hands up in defence and grabbed her backpack before exiting the dorm room. Noah followed, and they walked down the dozens of staircases at the base of Ravenclaw Tower, then down the stairwell and into the Great Hall for breakfast.

The start of term feast had been an amalgam of all things British, however, as members of Ravenclaw House, the students seated alongside Noah and Hana were lucky to have different kinds of food from around the world. There was some dumplings and miso soup nearby for Noah and Hana, a few plates of Mandazi, stacks of pancakes and waffles in front of a vast majority of students, and there were even some Indian breakfast foods for another few children. Noah helped himself to a small bowl of dumplings and some pumpkin juice, while Hana had tea and a small bowl of miso soup. A simple sip set her straight from the morning's rude awakening - it was almost as good as her mother's.

Hana's eyes went from Noah's face full of food to a familiar twitchy walk when it crossed her field of vision. Severus had walked into the Great Hall alongside Lily, and the girl couldn't help but smirk. Herbology was their next class, and she hadn't forgotten that Mr Snape had a prior engagement. Though, Hana frowned when the boy's head snapped towards the Gryffindor table. Odd, she thought. She couldn't see anything that merited that look, or Lily's reaction, so Hana thought nothing of it and flicked a piece of scone at Noah's forehead.

Once again, Noah and Hana parted ways on their way to class, and Hana sauntered in the direction of the courtyard. Herbology class was located outside, in the humidity of the greenhouses caused by the unnecessarily bright sun. Hana looked up at it both thankful and confused. Couldn't this sun have shone while she was locked up in her house for the past five years? She shrugged. At least it wasn't raining now and she wouldn't have to dash from the greenhouses to the castle after class later. After the short delay of glaring at the sun, Hana made her way to class and spied the students. Hana's lips formed into a small smirk and she made her way towards Severus. The look of annoyance that broke on his face was priceless.

"Oh, dear God..."  
"I'm flattered that you'd refer to me as God, Severus, however, I don't believe in such fictional characters," Hana said, taking a seat. "Hana will do just fine."

Severus heaved a sigh and took out his equipment for the class just as Madam Pomfrey arrived. Hana did the same, and with a wave of Madam Pomfrey's wand small empty clay pots found themselves in front of all the students, four each. Today they were going to begin the planting and caring of plants they'd be able to use throughout their years at Hogwarts, namely those for Potions Class. For now, it was Aconite, Dittany, Nettles and Asphodel, as Madam Pomfrey explained, and she went on to describe different types of soils and fertilizers for at least twenty minutes, during which Hana took notes in her textbook, scrawling them in her native language. Severus glanced at it curiously, then frowned.

"What is this gibberish?" he whispered.  
"Margin notes, can't you tell?" Hana said sarcastically.  
"Idiot, I mean the language. What's that, Chinese?"  
"Japanese."  
"Okay?"  
"Not all Asian people are Chinese, Severus."

Hana stared at her left hand. It was trembling again. She rolled her eyes and gently flexed her hand. Moments later the trembling had stunted and Hana continued taking notes in her copy of Magical Herbs and Fungi. Severus kept his eyes on the girl, alternating between her face and the crease on her brow, and her hand. She looked back up at Madam Pomfrey and listened to her talk on and on about the amount of sunlight and moonlight each plant needed to get daily, and then she finished up with potting methods, leaving the students to their own devices. Hana fetched her dragon-hide gloves from the bottom of her backpack and grabbed a giant bag of potting soil, then a smelly container of dragon dung fertiliser. She recoiled when the scent hit her nostrils.

"And I thought the cows smelled bad..."  
"Tell me," Severus said all of a sudden.  
"Tell you what?" Hana asked, making a mix of the soil and the dung.

She passed the soil bag and dung container to Severus. They busied themselves with their tasks as they spoke.

"Your hand. It keeps shaking."  
"What about it?"  
"I'm curious," Severus offered as an explanation, nearly gagging when he opened the dung container in turn.  
"It's not something I'm just going to talk about, Severus. It's... personal."  
"You don't look physically disabled, so is it something wrong with your brain?"  
"Since when are you a medical expert?" Hana said, starting to get annoyed.  
"I can read," Severus answered as if it were an obvious response.  
"You can? Wow, that's a surprise."  
"I have a lot of time on my hands at home, damn it, so I read."  
"Homeschooled?"

Severus was silent for a second.

"Sort of. My mother has old books that I read through. She taught me what I need to know."  
"And that included the intricacies of physical and psychosomatic tremors?"  
"You talk too much, Yukimura," Severus said with a sigh.  
"Hana," the girl corrected.  
"Yukimura."  
"Look, even if I did explain it all to you, it would take way too long. Besides, it's way too personal anyway for me to just tell you this when we're elbow-deep in dragon dung, and even if we weren't, I'd probably tell Noah before I'd tell you."

Hana took a deep breath and clenched her hands. They were hiding in a foot of soil, but Severus could tell that her hand was shaking.

"Sorry."

Severus shrugged - he didn't seem to be offended by her comment.

There were a few minutes of silence between the two, in which Hana carefully planted her Dittany and Nettles and debated whether she'd say anything. In the end, her lips were moving before her brain could tell her to stop.

"The Healers say it's psychosomatic."  
"You disagree?"  
"No. I know it is. It just makes it harder to treat it."  
"What happened?"  
"Long story short... My mother died."  
"Oh."  
"Oh?" Hana chuckled. "How very eloquent of you, Severus."

Severus turned to Hana and rose an eyebrow. The laughter had come unexpected.

"What?"  
"You're... laughing?"  
"My mother has been gone for six years, Severus. I miss her, but there's no use dwelling on it. I've already got this tremor to deal with. Besides, I'm built tough, don't ya know."

Severus rolled his eyes, but Hana noticed the smallest of smiles on his face.

"Can I ask you another question? Last one... probably."  
"Since when do you need to ask permission? I'm not your superior unless you want to call me God again."  
"You complete dunderhead."  
"Dunderhead? That's a new one," Hana chuckled. "Sorry, go on."  
"Why do you call me Severus?"

Hana snorted in a very unladylike fashion. She covered her face a little out of embarrassment, but she only ended up getting dirt and dung on her cheek instead.

"Because it's your name, _you dunderhead,_" Hana mimicked.  
"Doesn't stop your friends from calling me names."  
"What - Noah? Severus, the boy barely speaks at all, let alone to you," Hana chuckled, potting up her Aconite and Asphodel roots. "He can't be calling you names."  
"Who's Noah?"  
"The Asian kid I hang out with. The one with the crazy hair?"  
"Oh, that's his name."  
"Not really the point, is it?"

Severus shrugged.

"You're the one who brought it up."  
"Those idiot Gryffindors!" Severus said angrily.

Hana rose an eyebrow. She'd seen him irritated before because he was irritated constantly to be perfectly honest, but the sheer anger in his voice was unmistakable.

"Strutting about the castle like they own the place. _Snivellus_, this. _Snivellus_, that."  
"Snivellus?" Hana muttered to herself. "That's..."  
"Oh, so you _do_ know about it!"  
"Well, I've heard them say the same and some... not so very nice things after that, but I-"  
"You're just like that Lupin," Severus spat. "Watch it all happen and do nothing."  
"Wait, wait, slow down, Severus!" Hana urged. "Since when has this been going on?"  
"Since when? That's a laugh."  
"Look, look. I'll talk to them, okay?"

Severus scoffed.

"What good will that do? All three of them have heads as inflated as the Hindenburg."  
"Hindenburg?"  
"Giant muggle airship."

Hana pondered for a moment.

"That's an adequate metaphor."  
"The point is, their heads are inflated and there's no way a scrawny little Japanese girl is going to change their minds."  
"Then why'd you bring this up at all?" Hana asked. "Is it just because you like to complain?"

Severus ignored her and went back to his potting. Hana sighed.

"I'll talk to them, Severus, okay?"  
"Whatever."  
"_Baka_, I'm trying to help you. I'll talk to them, and they better not be doing anything stupid because I'll _karera no o shiri o keru_."  
"Pardon?"  
"I'll kick their butts."  
"Right."  
"I'm serious, Severus, they have no reason to hate you," Hana said calmly. "And if after I talk some sense into them, if they keep at it, you better tell me, all right?"

Severus scoffed. Hana dropped the soil in her hands and got in the boy's way, glaring at him.

"You'll tell me, right?"  
"Fine."  
"Good," Hana said happily, sitting back down. "Now, pass me the dragon poop, will ya?"


	6. Confrontational

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Its me again!   
Since I didn't update as usual this week, I'm giving you an extra chapter as a little gift!
> 
> Enjoy your read ❤️

The following morning, a loud thump rang through the Great Hall and made everyone jump up in surprise, professors included. However, seconds later, everyone was rolling their eyes at the source. It was only Hana, who had dropped her unusually heavy stack of books smack dab in the centre of the Gryffindor table. Noah stood quietly behind her and watched as James' glass tipped over, and didn't say a word as Hana sat down between Remus and Sirius and plucked a blueberry off one of their plates.

"Hi, Hana," Remus said, looking both scared and confused.  
"Did you know that a Shakespearean English euphemism for a man's you-know-what is _wit _?"  
"Uh..."  
"What does that say about Ravenclaw's motto, hm? _Wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure_."  
"Hana, what are you on?" Sirius asked with a laugh.

Hana sighed and shook her head.

"Sleep deprivation and an overactive brain. This shocking revelation has thrown me for a loop. What was Rowena thinking, honestly? I'm never going to be able to forget this. I'll look at the motto in our Common Room and I'll just immediately think about the Shakespearean version of wit!"

All the boys looked at her funny.

"Sorry, I had the thought waking up, and I'm already really bad at mornings, especially when twins are screaming in your ears an hour before sunrise," she said as she poured herself a cup of tea. She took a sip and looked behind her. "Noah, are you going to sit down or just stand there and look pretty?"

Noah shuffled in on the other side of the table and sat beside James who was still mopping up pumpkin juice. Hana had told Noah what Severus had said about James, Sirius and Remus the day prior. Unfortunately for him, he had to wait for anything to come to light, and that made him more nervous than usual. Hana was ready to believe Severus of course, just not without proof. She wasn't simply going to waltz up to them, declare them bullies and renounce their friendship. No, no, no. Today in flying class, Hana wouldn't fly or practise with the other Ravenclaws, she'd keep a sharp eye on her friends. Her strange revelation was simply a by-product of her apprehension towards it all, so was the slight tremor in her hand. 

James and Sirius barrelled down the hallways and down to the training grounds as usual, while Remus, Hana and Noah walked side-by-side and discussed the potions essay they had to write for next week. Madam Hooch was there to greet the students as usual and hand out old school brooms to everyone. After a few short instructions, Madam Hooch blew her whistle and the students began practising their flying. Most of them didn't go above a hover, except for James who had to show off each class and spin around the training grounds even if Madam Hooch shouted for him to touch down. Hana was steadily getting better, unlike Noah or Severus for that matter, who were both wobbly even when barely two inches off the ground, and looking over at Sirius and Remus, Hana could tell that they still couldn't give a rat's ass about flying - they were sitting on their hovering brooms, chatting avidly.

There was nothing out of the ordinary that Hana could see, concerning the issue at hand, and she considered giving up her search for malice for a split second. However, just as her eyes began to lower, so did James on his broom, and he did so quite close to Severus, which knocked him off to the ground. It would have seemed an honest mistake had James not high-fived Sirius a few seconds later.

Hana groaned, which startled Noah, and she swung her legs off the side of her broom.

"I don't like where this is going, Noah."  
"Huh?" the boy hummed, clumsily dismounting his broom. "How what's going - oh, the Snape thing?"  
"Severus, yeah... I mean, look at them. They're clearly-- Oh, I don't know. Like... Yeah."  
"You mean... They're clearly laughing at Snape and Snape is clearly uncomfortable, but they're still your friends and you don't want to call them out, but at the same time them harassing Snape pisses you off," Noah completed.  
"Thanks for articulating for me."  
"No problem. So, what're you gonna do?"  
"Well, I told Severus that I'd talk to them," Hana said with a shrug.  
"You hate confrontation, Hana," Noah sighed.  
"I also don't go back on my word, so screw confrontation, I'm gonna talk to these dunderheads."  
"Dunderheads?"  
"I don't even know. Don't ask."

* * *

The day was beautiful, and as Hana sat beneath the beech tree by the lake, she thought of how much it sucked that she was about to sour the mood. Sirius and James were swinging above her, talking about God knows what, Noah and Remus were pouring over a thick tome that Remus had gotten from the library, and Hana was humming a tune that her mother used to sing. And though the tune was airy and pleasant, her thoughts were anything but.

"Hey guys, can I ask you something?"  
"Only if it doesn't turn into one of your rabbit holes of information," James said, swinging upside down.  
"Or one of those weird revelations again. I don't need to know anything else in Shakespearean English," Sirius added.  
"Nah, it's just a hypothetical."  
"Then shoot."  
"So, let's say you got this... friend, I suppose, and this friend has told you that someone's picking on him."  
"Well, obviously you kick his butt," James stated.  
"Okay, but what if the bully is also a friend?"

There was a moment of silence in which Hana kept her gaze on the lake. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Noah and Remus staring at her. It was clear, through this silence, that James and Sirius were most likely doing the same thing from above, and that they knew exactly what she was talking about. 

"Hana-"  
"To my knowledge, Severus hasn't done anything to you two," the girl interrupted her voice calm. Her hand was shaking again.   
"Well, it's more the fact he exists, really," Sirius said.

Hana's head turned sharply towards the boys.

"Are you mad? He's done literally nothing to you, and you torment him anyway?"  
"It's just a bit of fun, Snowflake," James said. "Neither of us really means it. Snivellus is probably just being sensitive."

The girl's eyebrows knitted together in concern. It was a possibility that Severus was exaggerating, yes, but in either case, that meant that one of them was lying to her straight in the face.

"Why're you even friends with him in the first place?"  
"Severus isn't really my friend, Sirius, he's just a classmate that I happen to get along with. Well... most of the time, anyway."  
"And you're just defending him because you feel it's your duty as a classmate, then?"  
"Yes," Hana said coolly. "Regardless of what Severus is to me, it isn't right, and you know it. So yes, I am defending him, just like I would any other student who's getting picked on."  
"But he's a Slytherin!"  
"And I have told you before that I hold no animosity towards Slytherins," Hana said explained. "I understand that you hate them because your family members are a bunch of twats, Sirius, but that doesn't mean that I have to conform to that ideal as well. I'm free to like and dislike whoever I want."

Hana stood promptly and dusted off her robes. Sirius watched her pick up her things, an unfriendly glint in his eyes.

"This stereotype you hold Slytherins to is unhealthy," Hana said, looking pointedly at James and Sirius. "Look, I don't want to hear anything like this from Severus again, understood?"  
"No problem," Sirius snapped.

Hana narrowed her eyes at him, unsure as to why he'd agreed so quickly, but she left the tree's side, more or less satisfied about their talk. Hana would have brought up Remus' actions, or lack thereof, but if she didn't want to lose her friends completely, she felt it was best to stop there for the day.

About halfway back to the castle, Hana remembered that she'd left Noah behind, but there was no way she was going to return down there now. She was going to let the boys stew in the talk they'd just been given, and wait for Noah to show up again. Meanwhile, Hana made her way through the courtyard and down the numerous halls of Hogwarts, evading fanged frisbees thrown by first years or looking away from numerous seventh years snogging in the hallways. However, turning around a hallway, Hana couldn't evade Lily Evans, whom she smashed straight into. Both of their books and papers went flying everywhere, and both girls immediately dove down to pick things up for each other.

"I keep doing this. Honestly, Hana, what is wrong with you?"  
"It's fine, don't worry! I wasn't looking where I was going either," Lily said. "You're Hana Yukimura, right?"  
"Uh, yes?"  
"I'm Lily. Lily Evans. Severus has spoken of you."  
"I bet he's mentioned that I'm a pain? Or maybe that I'm that one dunderhead that won't leave him be?" Hana said, mimicking Severus' voice.  
"Yes, he has," Lily chuckled. "But he also said that you were going to talk to those idiotic friends of yours?"

Hana looked up at Lily, a little surprised.

"Uh, yeah... Yeah, I did. Say that, I mean. And talk to them, I suppose. I just came back from there. It was uh... insightful. And confrontational. I didn't like it."  
"Well, I'm thankful that you did it anyway," Lily said with a smile. "I can only help Severus when I see something happen, but I'm glad you're standing up to your friends for him."  
"I mean, I'd do it for anyone, really," Hana said with a small shrug.  
"Hey, come on. I was just about to go find Severus in the library."

Hana and Lily stood, books in hand.

"Are you sure? I mean, I wouldn't want to intrude or anything."  
"You're not intruding, Hana."  
"Well you might say that, but Severus..."  
"Is a grumpy old man that needs new friends. Come on."

Lily didn't wait for Hana to accept. Instead, she grabbed the Ravenclaw's hand and dragged her through the halls at a jog until they reached the library. The woman in charge of the place shushed them immediately upon entry, but neither of them paid her any mind. Lily darted straight for the far end of the room where they found Severus with his nose deep in a book.

"Took you long enough."  
"Sorry, I picked someone up along the way," Lily said, sitting beside him.

Hana plopped down in front of Severus. He heaved a sigh.

"Is it because she bumped into you? She has a habit of doing that."  
"Okay, I bumped into you that one time!" Hana said, threateningly pointing a book at him.  
"Twice suffices to call it a habit."  
"I'll start calling you a grumpy old man again. How's that for a habit?"  
"Why are you two arguing?" Lily asked, concerned.  
"Oh, we're not arguing, Lily, this is our bonding," Hana said with a small smile.  
"We aren't bonding."  
"Just admit it, Severus."  
"Why'd you bring her here, Lily?" Severus asked, almost desperately.  
"Because she talked to her friends for you," the girl said with a small laugh.

Severus looked to Hana, who was scribbling something down in the margins of one of her textbooks.

"You did?"  
"Yeah, I did. Turns out you were right," Hana admitted with a sigh. "I don't know the extent of they did to you, and I didn't ask because I don't honestly care what they did - it's enough that they did do something. I told them that I didn't want to hear about them doing it anymore."  
"What happens if they don't stop, Hana?" Lily asked.  
"Well... I suppose I'll think of something if it ever comes to that."

Lily nodded with a small smile.

"For now..." Hana said, pulling out her homework. "What'd you guys write down for question 27?"  
"For Professor Binns' class? Let me see..."  
"Merlin's arse," Severus replied sarcastically, his nose back in his book.  
"Hm, that makes sense. Can I list you as a reference?"


	7. A Very Musical Christmas

Seasons faded in and out like soft lullabies, their transitions slow but never faltering. Like mother earth herself they only turned in one direction, always onward, never back. As they waxed and waned the pace of Hogwarts life changed. In the summer, everyone was high energy, all systems go. With the first wash of autumn air, moving over the green hills and the vast lake like a shallow wave, the people slowed down to a softer pace. The winter was flatter still, but never falling into a negative spin, the students and faculty of Hogwarts loved snow far too much for that. Then the spring came to wake the sleeping castle: people, trees and blooms. Folk walked under newly unfurled leaves, smile at the fresh new flowers and tilt their faces upwards in the warmth of the sun's rays. Soon, summer was back and the carousel was complete for another year.

For now, Hogwarts was living the cycle of winter. Snow-covered trees stood as ballet dancers poised to show the world their grace, strength showing in how they remained so still in the seasonal gusts of wind. Now that the leaves had fallen, they were so proud, as if their silvery brown skin was their glory all along. The sun was the brightness of the day, taking centre stage as the blooms of the summertime became a part of the soil. The lake appeared still, yet everyone knew that the Giant Squid could be found swimming underneath the ice, and though the air bore only the coldness and the ground was frozen, even more, they glittered with the gift of sunshine, somehow still warm when the north wind bit.

Hana lift her head into the wind as she and Severus who was a little ways away bid goodbye to those heading home for the Christmas holidays. Noah was bundled up so tightly that Hana feared he might suffocate, but James, Sirius and Remus assured her that they'd keep an eye on him on the train ride to King's Cross station. Lily happily gave Hana a tight hug before leaving, her nose pink from the cold already, and skipped off to join some friends who'd already left for the carriages.

When everyone was finally out of sight, Hana's shoulders slumped. Once again, her holidays were going to be spent alone, as her father was out of the country on business. Once again, Hana yearned for the year 1964, when her Christmas tree was ridiculous, scraping the ceiling as her father wobbled on a ladder to hang the fairy lights. It belonged back in the forest that tree, dominating their small living room as it did. But everyone was grinning. Her cousins and herself were hopping from foot to foot awaiting the go-ahead to hang the decorations. Packets of tinsel lay unopened on the floor, not just the snake kind, but the stuff in loose strips they still found around the house in May. Then her mother would plug in the lights and we almost exploded, our fingers itching to get going. The memory of actually decorating the tree was far shorter than the time it took to actually make it beautiful all those years ago, but the finished tree was like a perfect photograph. Funny how these events stayed in the mind when so much else did not. But she was glad that that memory was still there, otherwise, she'd just be left with bad memories; Hana couldn't remember a time where her father had been happy or caring at all.

However, Hana's spirits rose slightly when she remembered that, after all, she wouldn't be completely alone. She'd have the company of Severus whether he liked it or not. Maybe she would miss her own family's Christmas tree, but it wasn't as if she were going to be in an empty house devoid of decorations either. Dumbledore had arranged for twelve large fir trees to be brought up and decorated in the Great Hall. There was holly and mistletoe hanging around every archway, and snow fell from the ceiling above the four house tables, but unlike real snow, this snow was dry and warm, and their Head of House had enchanted the suits of armour in the halls the sing carols when people passed by them. Maybe, at Hogwarts, her Christmas would have a little magic once again.

"I don't know about you, but I'm going to hide."  
"Hide?" Hana asked, whirling around to face Severus. "There's no one here to hide from."  
"There's Peeves, there's those blasted singing suits of armour-"  
"Okay there, Mr Grinch, go hide. I'm going outside to enjoy the snow."

Hana wheeled back around and dashed off, then up the ever-changing staircases, then up Ravenclaw tower and into her Common Room after giving the answer to the door's knocker. She pulled out a black Hanten, tossed it onto her bed, and rummaged through her clothes to find a sweater. She pulled a thick dark green jumper from the depths of her wardrobe and slipped it over her head, followed by the Hanten. A pair of earmuffs, gloves and a scarf later, Hana was running back down the staircases and heading outside in the barely touched, pure white snow.

She watched each of her footfalls sink into the crystalline snow as she made her way to the lake, then when she was five she turned around to see her path laid out behind her in the otherwise pristine snow. Just before her head flicked back around Hana spied the icicles hanging from the turrets of towers and wished she could snap one off. But she supposed it was only water, and so she continued her trek down to the frozen water. Against her better judgement, Hana climbed up into the beech tree, almost slipping on her way up, and looked out at the horizon.

Hana felt a sudden rush of disappointment as she sat, looking out into the vast whiteness of the Hogwarts grounds. Severus wasn't a very close friend, sure, however, she couldn't help but want him to be sitting outside with her anyway. She'd at least have someone to talk to, and it definitely beat being alone just days before Christmas. Maybe she should have taken Noah up on his offer of spending the holidays with him, but then again, she wouldn't have felt right intruding on his family like that, especially since Noah's mother didn't seem overly fond of her. A sigh left Hana's mouth, and she brushed a stray hair from her face. What to do?

"Hey."

Hana turned towards the voice and spotted Severus, but just as she was about to smile and speak, the wind blew her hair into her face and mouth.

"Graceful," Severus said monotonously.

The girl huffed, annoyed, and blew the hair out of her mouth. She turned back around to get the hair out of her face, and Severus went around the tree to face her.

"Thought you wanted to hide?"

Severus shrugged.

"The ghosts found me."  
"Well, get your ass up here, then."  
"I'll be staying on the ground, thanks."

Hana chuckled and extended her hand.

"Come on."

With a sigh, Severus began climbing but refused to take Hana's hand or help, which made the process significantly more difficult, but he succeeded in the end, seating himself further down the branch Hana was on.

"Aren't you cold?" Severus said after a short while.  
"I'm wearing three layers of clothing, gloves, a hat and a scarf. It could be forty below zero and I'd be fine."

Severus muttered something under his breath, which made Hana turn to him with the intent of telling him off. However, she'd just noticed that all he was wearing was a fairly old jacket and a pair of boots that had surely seen better days. Her eyebrows momentarily knitted out of concern, and with a short sigh, Hana removed her scarf and tossed it as Severus. He caught it, but just barely, and stared at the knitted navy scarf then at her.

"What's this for?"  
"You, you twit."  
"I don't need it."  
"Say that to your shaking shoulders, Severus," Hana said. "You do know that the school gives us a scarf for winter?"  
"Lost mine," Severus said quietly.

Hana turned her head back to the lake. Something told her that he hadn't truly lost it.

"Keep it then."  
"What? No. Look at this thing."  
"I keep a sparkly purple one in my trunk, would you prefer that one?" Hana asked.  
"No."  
"There you go. Happy Christmas."  
"Yeah, yeah," Severus sighed. "But if you're expecting a gift in return, you're out of luck. Unless you'd like me to recite all the reasons I think you're annoying?"  
"Come on, Severus, try harder. Write a thesis."  
"Understood. I'll owl it to you for Christmas."  
"And here I thought you had no heart."

* * *

Hana was woken from her slumber by the scent of freshly baked Christmas cake coming from, presumably, the Great Hall. Lazily, she rose from her bed and wobbled over to the bathroom, ignoring the beautiful pink and orange hues that painted the sky. Waking up with a cold shower was more important. Even upon exiting, the sky mattered not. Instead, Hana finally laid her eyes on the pile of gifts that sat at the foot of her bed. She was surprised more than anything else to have received gifts, but looking at the tags on them the surprise melted and the gratefulness swelled.

The first thing that caught Hana's eye was the large, flat square that sat on top of all the other gifts. It was wrapped quite simply, unlike all the others, and when Hana opened it she nearly cried. She put it back atop the pile of gifts and dashed down the hall into one of her housemates' room to borrow his old turntable. Moments later, back in her room, Hana happily listened to the voice of Kyu Sakamoto, wondering just how on earth Remus had managed to scrounge up the vinyl. The most obnoxiously coloured gift was from James and when she opened the box her weight in candies spilt out of it, burying her legs. Hana spent the next few minutes trying to shove all of it back into its box, but not without eating a chocolate frog beforehand. Lily had been most sensible and gotten her a rather useful set of nice stationery and extra parchment, with a note attached that read: "Do you think this is too practical?". Hana chuckled to herself and put the extra stationery inside her trunk before moving on to the next gift which came from Sirius. It was another vinyl, but this one was clearly a mirror into Sirius' soul. Hana didn't know anyone else who listened to Elvis Presley. And as she danced around and sang to Jailhouse Rock, Hana opened and read the thesis Severus promised to write her with a smile on her face.

The singing continued as Hana skipped down the stairs and the halls until she made it into the Great Hall. Severus' head turned sharply when the sounds of the Ravenclaw singing Blue Christmas by the King once again, and he rolled his eyes and turned back to his book when he saw that Hana was dancing at the same time. The other few students in the Great Hall paid her no mind, even as she sat down at the only table and continued singing.

"Why are you singing?" Severus complained.

Hana shrugged and dramatically finished the song before answering.

"I'm disappointed, Severus. You didn't include annoying singing in your thesis."  
"I would have if I knew you were the type to sing."  
"I took classes as a kid," Hana said, pouring herself a cup of tea. "That and piano. My father thought it was essential to be cultivated, or something. The teacher was a horrible human though..."  
"Shame your teacher didn't dissuade you from pursuing the classes. I wouldn't have had to endure that spectacle."  
"Rude."


	8. Pictures

Unfortunately, the holidays were over. There was no more singing to annoy Severus, no more music ringing throughout her Common Room (as she had to put the turntable back in her housemate's room). The twelve fir trees were gone, the suits of armour had stopped singing, and all the holly and mistletoe had gone. On the bright side, Hana's friends had returned and told her all about their holidays. However, classes had resumed and Hana wasn't ready for those at all.

Nothing could express how much Hana would rather be sticking her head down a toilet rather than being in Slughorn's class at this very moment. It seemed that, during the holidays, Slughorn's foot removed itself from his arse which allowed him to normally speak to her. This lead to him overlooking several students when asking questions and going directly to her or nodding over-enthusiastically whenever he walked by Hana's cauldron. However, he still refused to acknowledge Noah's talent in Potions class, so he made a point to not look at him while he spoke with Hana. Lily too had been spotted by Slughorn, however, she seemed to enjoy the attention rather than dislike it. Beside her, just like Noah, Severus wasn't getting any limelight at all. Of course, Hana wanted to distinguish herself from the others, but not at Noah's or Severus' expense. She bore with it for the first half-hour of the class, until well, her tongue slipped.

"Tell me, Miss Yukimura, where could one find a bezoar?"  
"Merlin's arse probably."

The dead silence in the classroom brought Hana away from her note-taking. She looked up at Slughorn, whose face shone with confusion.

"Pardon me, Miss Yukimura, I don't think I heard you quite right."  
"I said, 'Merlin's arse probably'," Hana repeated a little louder. "Sorry, I don't know the answer. How about you ask Noah? Or Severus? Or even Belby over there. I'm sure they'll know."

Slughorn hesitated for a moment before he swerved and asked Lily to answer, which she did gladly. However, she turned around to look at Hana, concerned, but her concerns weren't alleviated by the simple shrug the Ravenclaw gave her. It was after the first half of the class that Hana explained.

"Yeah, I want to distinguish myself, but he's just ignoring others that have talent too. I mean, Severus is probably the best in our class, and he barely glances at him, and Noah is just as good as we are and he gets ignored too. I'm not fond of discrimination." Hana said. She shrugged. "Also, the man's moustache gives me the creeps and I'm tired of watching it move."

Lily chuckled.

"Well, watch it, okay? You're lucky he didn't take away points."  
"Take away points from one of his new favourite students? Never gonna happen, Lily."

The Gryffindor sighed, giving up, and parted ways with Hana and Noah. She and Severus went on to the library for their break, while the two Ravenclaws headed to the Great Hall to study and snack on whatever was on the table that day. About halfway into their Potions homework loud noises rang through the Great Hall and steadily approached the Ravenclaw table. Within a few seconds, James and Sirius, both singing some odd muggle tune, had seated themselves with Hana and Noah and kept on singing until Remus trotted in behind them, looking rather tired.

"Good morning to you, dear Ravenclaws!" James announced.  
"Did you really have to come in yelling?" Hana chuckled.  
"That was singing, my dear Snowflake!"  
"Didn't you know?" Sirius added, with a grin.  
"I've never heard that kind of singing, no," Noah said. "I've only heard Hana sing."

James, Sirius and even Remus turned to Hana abruptly, who stopped mid-chew on a rice cake to look back at them.

"What?"  
"You can sing?"  
"Everyone can sing. To varying degrees of course," Hana said, trying to move past this topic of conversation. "The fact that I too can sing, means nothing in the grand scheme of things."

All four boys gave her a look that suggested she had spewed the fanciest bullshit they'd ever heard.

"I've said it before, I took classes, okay?"  
"You haven't told us that!" James said.  
"Oh, right," Hana muttered, suddenly recalling that she'd said that to Severus over the holidays. "Well... I'm telling you now. I took singing and piano classes as a kid."  
"And do you still sing?" Sirius asked.  
"Not mu--"  
"You sing every morning in the shower."

Hana smacked Noah on the shoulder for his comment.

"And she's good," Noah continued, earning him another round of shoulder punches. "You know, now that I think about it, she probably sang to the vinyls you got her for Christmas."  
"Noah Xiang, I will end you!" Hana warned, then went to continue, but remembered something. She turned to James, Sirius and Remus. "Wait, why're you guys even here?"  
"Oh, right, we didn't say," Remus said tiredly. "Well, it's nothing special really, you're on break right?"  
"Yeah, we've got to head back in a few minutes."  
"We just wanted to head to class with you," Sirius said. "Wanna see Sluggie's face when he sees you."  
"Why?" Hana asked.  
"News travels fast at Hogwarts, dear Snowflake."  
"Stop calling me that."  
"We know all about you telling off Slughorn. Honestly though, weren't Ravenclaws supposed to be stuck up know-it-alls that'll do anything for a good grade?"

Noah and Hana shared a look and burst out laughing.

"You're kidding, right?" Noah chuckled. "If you saw seventh year Ravenclaws trying to get into the Common Room late at night, you'd think otherwise."  
"Last night, Killian Limerick flat out refused to answer the Knocker's question and yelled at it for five straight minutes until the door just opened."  
"So... you're not all geniuses?"  
"Hell no," Hana laughed. "Half of us can't even be bothered to do our homework."

The conversation carried on until the dungeons, and James and Sirius got a good look at Slughorn's face when he spotted Hana. He became a little red in the face, and his moustache twitched so violently that they were sure that it was going to fly off.

"Marvelous!" James announced. "Just what I needed to get me through the day."  
"Oi, James, come on, we've got a piano to find!" Sirius called, as he ran off.  
"Piano?" Hana asked. "Where are you going to find a piano - and why?"  
"'You're gonna play for us, Snowflake!"  
"Fat chance!"  
"Yeah, you probably will," Noah said calmly.   
"Traitor."  
"Come on, Remus!" James and Sirius called from up ahead.

Just as Remus began walking away, Hana grabbed his wrist. He turned to her and saw the concern in her eyes.

"Hey, are you okay, Rem?"  
"Yeah, why?"  
"It's just... I don't know. You seem tired, is all. More this week than the last. Are you sure you're okay?"  
"I'm all right, Hana. Don't worry."

James and Sirius called for Remus again, and the boy jogged off to join them. After one last glance in his direction, Hana followed Noah inside the classroom and resumed their Potions class at their usual seats behind Severus and Lily, and they kept helping each other out for bits and pieces of their brewing process. When the class finally ended, and the four students were free from the oppressing darkness of the school's dungeons and the awful stench of blown up potions, they made their way out onto the grounds. Lily began rummaging in her bag.

"What're you looking for?" Hana asked.  
"I got something for Christmas, and I want to test it out!"  
"New hairbrush?"  
"Pair of sneakers?" Noah added.  
"Broomstick?"  
"Self-correcting quill?"  
"A gag to shut you both up?" Severus sighed.  
"Honestly, the three of you," Lily scolded.

It was an old Polaroid camera that she'd pulled out and began showing off proudly. Noah was immediately fascinated by the muggle contraption, and Lily was overjoyed to explain to him how it worked. Hana just didn't want Lily to point it at her, and she was sure Severus didn't want to have anything to do with it either.

"This way, I can document all of us through Hogwarts, and even afterwards!"  
"Don't you dare point that thing at me," Severus grumbled.  
"I have to agree with Mr Grumpy over there," Hana said. "I'm not a picture kinda girl."  
"Suit yourselves. Noah and I will preserve ourselves in photographs for all eternity without you."

Severus and Hana looked at each other.

"I'm quite all right with that."  
"Same here."  
"Oh, boo."

But Lily didn't really listen. She took pictures of them anyway, of course, while they weren't looking, and they'd never know.


	9. Lazy Weekends

It seemed that all the teachers had collectively agreed to not give any student homework for this weekend. This was much appreciated by many because, in a week's time, the final holiday would arrive and then the final exams. But for now, it was bright skies and warm weather for Hogwarts, despite the earliness in the year, and everyone seemed to be outside enjoying it. Everyone except for the young trio of troublemakers, James, Sirius and Remus, as well as the pair of Ravenclaw students that tolerated their nuisances, Hana and Noah.

As promised a few months back, James and Sirius had found a piano in one of the old and unused music rooms, which now served as more of a storage unit than anything else. Many muggle books and odd contraptions had been hidden here, probably from the Caretaker, and left to collect dust, which now caked everything it could touch. It took the five friends a few hours to clear the space, and it would have taken much less time had Sirius not "borrowed" his housemate's boombox. He had no idea how it worked, or what kind of music was inside it, but he knew that music could come out of it, so he took it. For about ten minutes, he and James tried to fiddle with it until Remus simply turned it on with the press of a button. A strong and high-pitched voice burst from the speakers nearly immediately, which made everyone jump. However, after they slowly began to recognise the sounds of Led Zeppelin, everyone began to move around to the music.

James and Sirius belted out the lyrics to Black Dog as they slid around in their socks, Remus mouthed the lyrics once in a while but stopped and tried to hide from the other two if they noticed him, and Noah and Hana danced together like the music was jive and not hard rock, twisting and turning and holding hands as they changed sides and nearly fell over. The friends were all grins, looking like idiots, but they didn't care. Inside they were just happy, happy and more alive than they could ever be during class or at home.

She hadn't done this since her mother died - played piano. But when she did, Hana felt the part of her that was really her come out to play, the part of her that hadn't been awake since her mother had passed. Maybe it was because she only used to sing for her mother, and it was only for her mother that she'd ever felt comfortable singing (at least seriously), but prancing around the room with her friends like this... it was pure happiness. And that's when Hana headed to the dusty old piano to play, even though she'd been so adamant that she'd never play for them. She didn't even notice when Remus turned off the music to listen to her play. Hana's tremor was nowhere in sight, despite the emotion that she felt playing like this without her mother. Instead, her skin tingled, as if the vibration of her fingers hitting the keys was liquid energy that seeped directly into her skin. 

Hana finally came back to reality when she'd finished playing her song. It was only because the boys had cheered and clapped for her, really, or else she'd never had noticed. And then she played old songs from home, some more classics for Sirius, a few soothing melodies for Noah. On one particular song, they all sang together, and the old classroom buzzed with the sounds of their voices and the piano, and the sounds probably rang down the halls too, but none of them cared. James and Sirius slow danced together, Noah lay flat on top of the piano, and Remus sat on the bench beside her, trying to copy her fingers' movements so that he could play with her. And with the jumble of on-key and off-key sounds, the sun began to set and the friends tiredly collapsed in the old chairs in room, talking until the stars glittered in the sky.

* * *

Hana woke up with a stiff neck the following morning, splayed out on her bed and not even in pyjamas. Her bangs stuck up in places it shouldn't, there was dried saliva on the corner of her mouth and she still had her shoes on her feet. She felt as if she had a hangover, or what she imagined a hangover felt like, but she knew it was only because of the excessive dancing and "cleaning" they did the day prior.

The Ravenclaw rolled off to her side intending to look around the room, but instead of simply rolling to the edge of the bed, Hana found that she was already there, and so she rolled straight off the bed and fell to the ground with a loud thump.

"Ah, _kuso_..."

A pained groan escaped Hana's lips as she rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. The stars on the royal blue ceiling shifted around to show the time and date, which made the girl sigh. It was way past breakfast and Hana would have to wait for lunchtime to eat something. To kill time, Hana stood and listened to the sounds of her stiff joints crack as she headed to the bathroom to take a long shower. By the time she came out, the bathroom was filled with steam and it took more coordination than usual to navigate back to her clothes on the vanity.

"Oh, hey, Haru."

The feline had woven his way through Hana's legs as she walked, and meowed happily when she acknowledged his presence.

"You wanna come down for lunch?"

Haru made a sound that could have signified agreement, so Hana left the door open for him to follow when she exited the common room. Going down through the hallways, Hana could feel the strong and warm wind through the open windows, and it made her hair dance around her head much to her annoyance. The halls were crowded with people, and the chaos of it was perfect, like in a book. There was the two seventh years that were always snogging in a corner out on the left side of the hall, and a few meters down a rather large group of Hufflepuffs that were huddled together for reasons unknown. Opposite them, was a bench that was used by the same two Slytherins every day, and between that was the large parade of students coming out of the library with towers of books in their arms. There were a couple of Ravenclaw sitting on window sills, making paper aeroplanes fly around and into peoples' hair and a group of Gryffindor that was barrelling down the halls and out onto the grounds. Hana suspected that they were her friends Sirius, James and Remus, but she didn't follow them. Instead, Hana entered the Great Hall and looked around for anyone she knew.

Considering the time, Hana wasn't surprised to find that Noah was nowhere to be found. He was most likely in the library at this time, trying to cram in a few bits of information before he came to get lunch at the very last minute. Hana couldn't see Lily at the end of the Gryffindor table, nor could she spot the three idiots flinging peas at each other. In a final attempt at finding a familiar face, Hana looked over to the Slytherin table. Her feet moved forward before her brain could ask itself if it was a good idea to, and they carried her off towards the table of silver and green robes to find Severus. He barely glanced at her.

"Mind if I eat lunch with you?"  
"Does he look like he wants to eat lunch with you?"  
"Excuse me?" Hana said, turning over to the voice. It was a rather nasty-looking boy, and he seemed older than she was.  
"You heard me, Jap."

Hana inhaled sharply, and her mouth pressed into a hard line.

"Resorting to name-calling, are we? Very mature."  
"I didn't ask for your opinion."  
"Fine," Hana said curtly. "Sorry to bother you."  
"Wait."

Hana looked over to Severus. His nose was still in his book, but he ended up closing it and standing up. He glanced at her for a split second, then began to walk off. Confused, Hana didn't move, and eventually heard Severus sigh.

"Well, come on," he called back.

Without a second thought, Hana jogged over to Severus, stealing an apple and a mince pie off of the Hufflepuff table as she went. As they walked out onto the grounds, Hana scarfed down the pie and then the apple in the most unflattering way, but all the while smiling brightly. A ways away, Hana spotted her three Gryffindor friends and tugged Severus by the sleeve in the opposite direction, something to which he protested initially until he spotted them himself.

The weather was the kind that felt like a kiss of summer without the fiery heat that would soon come in August. The grass was a soft green that almost had a hint of blue and in the sky were enough pristine clouds to show how nice the sky was. The stone path was warm, even through Hana's thin shoes, and she was glad that Severus had somehow, in his own way, agreed to spend time with her. The two of them eventually ended up walking the length of the lakeside and Hana stopped once to close her eyes, simply to focus on the sounds around her. There was the birds, the wind, the rustling of tree branches and the quiet complaints coming from an impatient Severus. She opened her eyes and pulled a face at him, then smiled and continued on her way. Eventually, the two students ended up crashing down in the oddly circular formation of rocks near the Gamekeeper's hut, and they sat cross-legged on the weed-filled lawn. Hana looked for the wildflowers she loved just as much as the camellias her mother had tended to back home with such loving care. It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate the beauty of a camellia, it was that she was equally in love with meadow flowers, with forget-me-nots and buttercups.

With a glance to Severus, Hana couldn't help but laugh.

"What?" the boy said, annoyed.  
"It's nothing, really."  
"Spit it out."  
"It's just... Ah, I don't know. I can't word. Noah usually articulates things for me," Hana grumbled, pulling grass out of the ground. "He's the word guy."  
"The... word guy?"  
"See? I can't speak."  
"You're talking now," Severus quipped.  
"Okay, yeah, but that's different."  
"I don't see how it is. Just think of what you want to say, and say it. You're over-complicating things for nothing and it's making me angry."

Hana pulled a face and Severus and turned away. She stared out at the grounds for a minute, then looked back to Severus.

"I just think... you look so out of place somehow."  
"Wonderful," Severus said sarcastically.  
"No, no, no, I mean-" Hana let out an irritated growl. "You make it a point to look dark and boring and uninteresting, and you never smile either, so you should stand out in weather like this because you're, you know, the complete opposite, but... I don't know. Even though you're sitting in cute little pale flowers, in the sun on a really nice day, reading a book... Somehow you don't look out of place at all... _Heiwadesu_."  
"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Hana stuck her tongue out at Severus.

"Guess that's the last time I'm saying something nice about you."  
"That was supposed to be a compliment?"

She chucked a handful of grass at him, and he threw some back. Hana laughed despite herself and lied down, staring up at the sky. She turned her head back towards Severus.

"Thank you, by the way."  
"What're you thanking me for?"   
"I don't know, not letting me walk away alone from that twat at your table?"  
"Oh, that. I wasn't doing it for you. I was leaving anyway," the boy said with a shrug. "It was too loud for reading in the Great Hall."

Hana smiled gently.

"Whatever you say, Severus."


	10. Breaking News

"I'm sorry to tell you this, Noah, but the only way I'm going to get through this is if you kill me."  
"I think I'll let the homework kill you, Hana."  
"Well, that's not a very dignified way to go."

It was Wednesday morning now, Easter break was coming up, and there was only two days left for every single student of Hogwarts to finalize and hand in their homework before the end of the term. Everyone in the study hall was panicking. Most of the Ravenclaws could barely keep their eyes open while they ate their breakfasts and one Gryffindor was clearly passed out in his bowl of oatmeal. Neither Hana nor Noah were aware of this, however, as they had not yet made it to the Great Hall that morning.

Hana and Noah had pulled an all-nighter the day prior to finish their Potions homework. The result was Hana's bangs sticking up in various places and her being sprawled all over her bed still in yesterday's clothes. Most important was the tremor in her left hand, which she tried to hide underneath her pillow.

"You've got an hour until breakfast is over, Hana. When do you want me to wake you?" Noah asked, tossing his notebook into his bag.  
"Never," came Hana's muffled voice.  
"We've got double Potions later."  
"I know."  
"So... I'm waking you in a half-hour?"

Hana rose her head, her hair falling over her face in the process.

"If I asked Slughorn if I'd pass even if I didn't show up to class today, do you think he'd give me a passing grade?"  
"Get your arse up, Yukimura!"

Noah chucked a pillow at Hana's head, and it hit her square in the face. She sputtered, threw the pillow back at Noah, and slowly rolled out of bed. She sighed, and waited for a moment, before bouncing back up and heading towards her wardrobe. Hana twirled dramatically to the bathroom and took a quick shower, and she emerged draping her necktie around her neck.

"You're gonna get docked points for that."  
"Wicked."

Noah rolled his eyes and followed Hana out into the hall. They weaved through the early morning traffic, ignoring the crying of fifth years still studying even this early in the morning, and made their way to the Great Hall. They sat at the Gryffindor table, Hana between Noah and Remus.

"Well you look like hell," James noted, looking at Hana.  
"Astute observation, my dear Watson," the girl replied, stacking a few pancakes on her plate.  
"Did you get any sleep?" Remus asked, concerned.  
"Did you? You look like you've contracted the plague."

A student beside Sirius snapped his head over in Hana's direction, frightened.

"For real?" Hana said, deadpan. "There hasn't been an outbreak of the Black Plague since the early 1900s, you uneducated peanut."  
"Seriously, though, Rem, you look like crap..." Sirius commented sleepily. "Worse than Snowflake."  
"When are you guys going to stop calling me that?"  
"I'm sick is all. Plus I haven't been sleeping 'cause of all this damn homework," Remus explained. "Do the teachers know we need sleep to live?"  
"Not likely," James said lazily. "Have you been to see Madam Pomfrey, Rem? Your constant sickness is weird."

Remus simply shrugged and continued eating his breakfast. Hana looked at him funny, then to Noah who shrugged. There was something off about that kid, Hana just needed to figure out what.

After breakfast, and dunking Sirius' hands into his pumpkin juice while he was passed out on the table, Hana and Noah separated from their Gryffindor friends and headed to the dungeons.

"You know, the darkness is welcome today. Perfect place for a nap," Hana said, eyelids slowly closing.  
"You want to take a nap here with the Bloody Baron? All right, be my guest."

The thought of the Baron's bloody appearance jolted Hana awake, and she hurriedly walked down the corridor into the mostly lit potions classroom.

"Woah, Hana, what happened?"

Hana looked up to see Lily staring directly at her, looking concerned.

"What do you mean?"  
"Well..."  
"She's saying you look like crap," Noah clarified.  
"Oh, right. We pulled an all-nighter for this stupid homework," Hana said, tossing her roll of parchment onto her desk. "That's why I look like crap. Noah has the genes of a Veela, he can't look crappy."  
"I don't have Veela in me, Hana."  
"Then why do you look perfect, hm!?"

Just then, Slughorn waltzed into the room and demanded everyone to settle down. He picked up everyone's parchment's with a wave of his wand and begun his lesson for the day. Hana opened her book to the correct page and began reading, then got up to get the necessary ingredients out of the cupboard for herself and Noah. It was only then that she realised something, or rather someone was missing.

"Hey, Lily," Hana called, after returning to her desk. "Where's Severus?"  
"Don't know," Lily said. "I saw him during breakfast but not since then. It's not his style to skip classes."

Hana frowned. Lily was right. I wasn't Severus' style to skip classes. Maybe he was just late, but after a half-hour, he still hadn't shown up. She was in the middle of slicing Foxglove when the doors burst open and he stormed in, looking more annoyed than usual. He handed his homework to Slughorn, who docked him 10 points for being late, then sat down at his desk.

"Severus where've you been?" Hana heard Lily ask.  
"Went to the library, lost track of time," Severus answered quickly. "Have you got any spare Flitterby Moths?"  
"Uh, no--"

Severus turned around.

"Got any spare moths, Yukimura?"  
"Yeah," Hana answered, handing him some of her extra crushed moths. "Need some Foxglove too? I've got extra."

The boy nodded and took the ingredients from the girl then turned back to his station. Hana frowned at the back of his head. Clearly something had happened, but this wasn't the time nor the place to ask about it. Besides, Hana figured it'd only make him more angry if she asked.

The rest of the class went without a hitch. Severus was acting normally even though Lily was clearly worried, Noah and Hana finished their potions ahead of everyone else as usual, and Slughorn kept trying to get Hana's attention to no avail. Eventually, lunchtime came around and instead of following Lily as he usually did, Severus veered off to his Common Room.

"I'm worried. He's never this quiet," Lily said.  
"You sure? He rarely ever speaks," Noah commented.   
"If he does it's more insulting than anything else," Hana said with a shrug. "Still, it is odd that he'd just go off to his Common Room like that. That boy sticks to you like Bowtruckles to a tree, Lily."  
"We have Charms together later, I'll try to talk to him then. Do you guys have any other classes today?"  
"No. Just a study period. But first - lunch!"  
"You ate an apple during class and a huge stack of pancakes for breakfast, how are you still hungry?" Noah asked with a breathy laugh.  
"It takes a lot to power this overactive brain of mine, Noah, dear."

Lily, Noah and Hana parted ways once at the Great Hall. Lily avoided sitting near Sirius, Remus and James, and the two Ravenclaws headed to their House table to eat some good food. Noah had some more of his favourite dumplings, and Hana helped herself to some rice, miso soup and grilled fish. They began discussing their Herbology homework before their study hall period, as they wouldn't be allowed to speak to one another, and compared their theories and shared their retained information.

Study hall went by rather slowly. Noah and Hana sat across from each other, alongside other Ravenclaws, and they slowly completed their rolls of parchment on Devil's Snare and Venomous Tentacula. Professor McGonagall was supervising, and Hana could barely glance at Noah before she was on her tail, warning her about keeping quiet. It was only when she was on the other side of the room that Hana and Noah got to make faces at each other or toss little notes across the table.

Hana was done her homework first, and after handing it in to McGonagall, she headed out into the hallway to wait for Noah. She sat on the parapet walls looking out onto the courtyard and watched a few Hufflepuffs play a rather intense game of Gobstones while waiting. When Noah arrived, they were free to enjoy their free period before dinner. Hana swung her legs over the parapet and jumped down into the courtyard, while Noah went the long way around as to not damage his robes.

"My mother would have my head if I came home with destroyed robes."  
"Isn't there someone in the common room you could have asked to fix them? Like a fourth year or something."  
"Oh, right."  
"Oi! Breaking news, guys! You want a Daily Prophet for a couple o' sickles!?"

Hana and Noah looked at each other before digging into their pockets for some change. They pulled out a few sickles and tossed them at the boy holding a stack of Daily Prophets.

"Why do we have a paperboy at Hogwarts?" Noah asked quietly.  
"Don't know... but look at this," Hana said, reading the headline.

She began reading.

* * *

**THE DARK LORD RISES**

**In a brief statement this morning, after being attacked by the man himself, Minister for Magic Eugenia Jenkins has confirmed what we've all suspected about the recent muggle deaths. "I'm shaken. He came into my house without warning, all cloaked in black, eyes nearly glowing red. He calls himself Lord Voldemort. He's got followers too, Death Eaters, hundreds of them. He threatened to take over, to -- he's threatening a war. Please... I urge the magical population to remain vigilant. The Ministry is currently publishing guides to elementary home and personal defence that will be delivered free to all wizarding homes within the coming weeks."**   
**The Minister's statement was met with dismay and alarm from the wizarding community, which as recently as last Tuesday was receiving Ministry assurance that the Muggle deaths were simply accidents and of no relation to the wizarding world. Details of the attack on the Minister for Magic as well as the content of this Dark Lord's message are still unclear, though it is believed that he and his Death Eaters have been operating under the Ministry and the Aurors' radar for quite some time now and that this information was willingly kept from the public for 'safety purposes'. **   
**More details will follow as the investigation progresses, but for now, be careful out there. **


	11. Holidays

There was a time where Hana didn't even own a television, and she didn't mind it until her Muggle friends spoke to her of a new show featuring a time-travelling doctor, then insisted her father got one in 1963. Akira had complained much, something about television dulling the minds, but then again you could find him sitting in front of the telly each morning watching the news, sipping of a cup of blistering hot, black coffee.

Hana never watched nor cared about the news until now. She'd always thought that the news was quite boring, relaying facts that no one really needed to know. However, now, as she gazed at the moving pictures of the Daily Prophet, she found that it was more odd than anything else. Deaths and trauma were presented as drama. They told Wizards things that traumatize them: missing people, dead Muggles, threats of war... and instead of discussing it thoughtfully, helping the reader to properly digest something so tragic, they move on to something funny and lighthearted: "Celestina Warbeck still the favourite of our own WWN!"

"I don't understand the news..." Hana muttered to herself.

They were on the train back to King's Cross station now, and Hana had to toss the newspaper back at Noah before she gave herself a headache.

"What's not to understand?" James asked across from her.  
"It's just so dramatic. Why can't they just report facts and tell people how to deal with it?"  
"'Cause that wouldn't be interesting to read," Sirius stated, chucking a chocolate frog into his mouth.   
"It's not supposed to be interesting, it's the news. It's meant to be informative. A-And then they go and talk about - what's this? Celestina Warbeck? Something happy and joyful?" Hana sighed and crossed her legs. She leaned forward onto her knees. "It's like - Imagine if your neighbour came over to give you some bad news and behaved like that. "Oh, hello, Mrs Pike just lost her son to Dragonpox; now did you hear about the one-legged crow that can tap 'God Bless Ye Merry Hippogriffs' with its beak?'"  
"She's got a point," Remus said, nose deep in 'Sonnets of a Sorcerer'.  
"They really should probably be less easygoing with this," Noah added, sinking into his seat. "With all of the Muggle attacks happening over the last year or two, there's no telling when this Lord Voldemort is going to finally strike."  
"Quit your worrying, man," Sirius laughed, nudging Noah's leg with his foot. "The Ministry and the Aurors have got this all under control. This Lord Moldy or whatever is going down."  
"Yeah! And if not then we'll just take him down ourselves!" James exclaimed proudly, posing dramatically.  
"This is a new level of moronic, even for you," Hana said with a sigh. She stood and fixed her skirt. "I'm going to see Lily. You gonna join, Noah?"  
"Nah, gonna stay here and keep these men sane."

Hana let out a breathy laugh and turned to leave.

"Oi! Tell her I said hi?" James said hopeful.  
"James, Lily would rather eat her own shoe than exchange words with you."  
"Damn it."  
"Come, Haru."

The feline, who up until then had been curled up at Hana's feet, jumped up and followed the girl out of the compartment. She weaved through the few students that were changing spots like her, the few paper balls being tossed between compartments and the trolley lady from which she bought a few pumpkin pasties. Hana tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear as she check all the compartments on her way down the train, and eventually came upon Lily's.

"Mind if I join you?"  
"Not at all! I was actually thinking of going to find you, but remembered that you also hang out with _them_," Lily said, putting away the book she was reading. "It's sort of boring being alone."  
"You're just used to having Severus with you all the time," Hana chuckled. She took a seat across from Lily and watched Haru jump up and curl up on her lap. "Speaking of Severus, did you end up talking to him about what was going on the other day?"  
"No, he didn't say. I don't wanna point any fingers but..."  
"Yeah, I know. But they're my friends too, and I can't just accuse them all willy-nilly."  
"Oh, it doesn't matter! It's the Easter Holiday! Time to be happy and eat chocolate!" Hana laughed. "Wait, do you even celebrate Easter?"  
"No, I don't actually," Hana said, absent-mindedly petting Haru.  
"Then why didn't you stay at Hogwarts with Severus?"  
"Well, in my hometown, we had a Cherry Blossom festival during this time of year, because it's when the trees bloom. There's a small Japanese quarter in London and there's a Spring Festival going on that I wanted to attend considering I can't go to the one back home. I was going to stay at Hogwarts initially, but I haven't gone to a festival in so long..."

Hana sighed, resigned and weary. It was a sigh so quiet that it would have gone unnoticed save that Lily had been looking directly at Hana. She was eager to go to the festival, but being in a basically empty house for an entire week wasn't something she was looking forward to, neither was a confrontation with her father about literally anything he wanted to pick at that day.

"I can go with you if you want."

The Ravenclaw blinked, eyes a little wide, and looked to Lily. She looked eager, a small smile on her face, but her eyes held a touch of sadness, if not empathy. She didn't know why Hana didn't want to go home, but the fact she knew something was wrong was enough to rise a feeling of gratefulness within Hana.

"You can even stay with me for the week, too. I'm sure my parents won't mind."  
"Really?" Hana gasped, excited.  
"Yeah! You can ask your dad if it's okay when we get to King's Cross."  
"There's no need for that," Hana said, sinking back into her seat. She looked out the window at the passing green fields. "He's not going to be there. I take the bus alone everywhere. He doesn't even know I'm coming back for the week. Besides, he's probably out on a business trip anyway."

Hana looked down at her hand. It was shaking slightly, and she tried to hide it by petting Haru, but the feline merely looked up at her, seemingly concerned.

"Is your father ever home?" Lily asked quietly.  
"I see him in the mornings sometimes, watching the news. Most times he locks himself in his office for hours on end, and then I'll hear the snap of someone apparating and I know that he's gone again."  
"And your mother?"

For some reason, Hana was surprised to hear Lily ask that. Lily had noticed the tremor in her hand before, but she'd never asked about it. Hana had reluctantly told Severus about her mother's passing and it's link to the tremor, but she was surprised that he hadn't told Lily. He told her everything.

"She passed away six years ago."  
"Oh."

Hana chuckled.

"Severus gave me the same reaction."  
"You told Sev?"  
"Only 'cause he was prying and I got annoyed."

Lily laughed, and her laughter spread to Hana. The talk of death ceased then and there, and the tremor in Hana's hand slowly began to ease. You could hear the sweet, joyful laughter from a mile away. It would echo through the halls and into each and every compartment on the train. It was at times like this that Hana enjoyed having a girlfriend. The boys would laugh, but it was all back slaps and heads jerking backwards. The soft giggle that came from Lily was a sound she'd enjoy for a long time.

It was noon when they'd arrived at King's Cross station, and the platform was occupied by hundreds of pairs of shoes and trunks of all kinds. Under the steady stream of smoke from the train shuffled hundreds of students and some of their pets, including Haru, who had once again refused to enter his carry-on. Sometimes, Hana wondered why she'd ever bothered to buy one in the first place.

Upon disembarking, Hana weaved her way through the younger and older students all the way to the front where she found the boys. She gave them all a farewell hug, much to their embarrassment, and turned back to Lily who'd already found her parents in the crowd. Mr and Mrs Evans looked as pleasant as pleasant could be. Their eyes were bright, wrinkling at just the right places, and their smiles radiated when looking at their daughter.

"Mum, Dad, this is Hana, the friend I was just telling you about."  
"It's so nice to meet you," Mr Evans said. "Lily has told us a lot about you."  
"_Anata ni o ai dekite kōeidesu_," Hana greeted, then bowed deeply. She rose again and spoke, "It's a pleasure to meet you."  
"Oh, so polite," Mrs Evans giggled to her husband.  
"Is it okay if Hana stays with us for the week? We want to go to a Spring Festival this week and we figured it'd be easier if we stuck together."  
"It's all right with us if it's okay with your parents, dear," Mrs Evans said, looking around for someone resembling Hana.  
"My dad is on a business trip abroad, so..."

Mrs Evans put a comforting hand on Hana's shoulder.

"If there is ever a holiday you don't want to spend at Hogwarts, dear, just tell our Lily, all right? No one should be alone during the holidays."  
"_Arigatōgozaimashita_. Thank you."


	12. The Spring Festival

Hana had never been so happy to be in the back seat of an old car. As the engine hummed in the lone country roads of Cokeworth, she relished the roaring winds that twirled her long black hair and whistled in her ears. She and Lily sang to the songs of the Beach Boys that her father had put on, and they danced in the back seat like nobody was watching. Children on bicycles turned their heads as the car passed through the streets, and Hana waved at some of them out of curiosity. Never had she seen so many people riding their bikes together at once.

Lily lived beyond the small suburb of Cokeworth town, and once the children on bikes had been passed, they turned onto a dirt path that lead to what looked like an endless field. Hana's eyes got lost in the expanse of green. There were more hues than anyone had ever names, yet there they were for the eyes to see. The land rolled like the rice fields of Kunigami, all the way to the horizon and beyond. To the left, in the distance, there was a house, and beyond that another neighbourhood, though this one was darker and grim.

The house had walls the colour of cream with window frames of mahogany. It was welcoming, from the open door to the wide hallway, and the gentle crackle of the fire of the hearth. Upon the walls were the photographs of children so obviously loved. The floor was an old-fashioned parquet with a blend of deep homely browns, and the walls were the greens of summer gardens meeting a bold white baseboard. Beyond the banister that was a twirl of a branch, the radio played softly and the smell of fresh cinnamon buns wafted to Hana's nose. Under the lamplight, the home was nature's art, something that soothed right to the soul, far different from the cold grey walls of home.

"It's not much, but it's home," Lily said with a small shrug.  
"What are you talking about? It's beautiful!" Hana said, smiling. "It... It almost reminds me of home."

It was the cottage in Japan that Hana called home, and Lily knew it. Mr Evans hauled the girls' things up the stairs, the second to last one creaking as he put his weight on it. He announced that dinner would be in an hour and left the girl to their own devices. Eagerly, Lily pulled on Hana's sleeve and dragged her to a room at the end of the hall. The bedroom was filled with more warmth than Hana had seen in many years. On the back wall was a mural, a tree with every colour of autumn leaf imaginable and a few more beside it. One the pine bed was a hand-embroidered red cover with a golden lion emblazoned on it. From every wall smiled pictures that Lily had taken of herself, Noah, Hana and Severus, either individually or together: Lily and Noah pulling faces at the camera, Hana sitting and reading a book, she and Severus sitting beside each other by the lake at Hogwarts. On the window sill sat a vase with a few wildflowers, and a tower of books was stacked on the bedside, all of them carefully worn.

"That blanket is very Gryffindor," Hana chuckled.  
"Come on, don't tell me you're not going to cover every inch of your room with Ravenclaw stuff when you get back to your house for the summer," Lily retorted.  
"Oh, definitely."  
"Besides, my mum made it for me, I gotta show it off."  
"Speaking of which, why are you showing off pictures of me on your walls? When did you take these?" Hana asked, inspecting a picture of herself laughing beside Severus.  
"That, my dear, is a secret."

* * *

Hana was used to rude awakenings, however, this time, it was a pleasant one. Instead of waking up to twins screaming at each other, Hana woke up to Lily jumping on her bed. Slowly and reluctantly, she uncovered her face. She blinked, closed her eyes, and blinked again. The giggles coming from the redhead were almost contagious, but the laughter reached Hana when Lily began hitting her with a soft down pillow. As quick as a fox, the Ravenclaw snatched a pillow from the bed and rammed Lily with it. Within seconds it was a full-blown war, with the girls running down the hall and then the stairs, chasing each other, each with a pillow in hand.

The smell of bacon lured the girls from their war, and they tossed their pillows onto the corduroy sofa, ready to eat. Lily got out some orange juice and maple syrup from the fridge, and Hana set the table just as Mrs Evans was finishing up breakfast. The girls were already halfway through a meal when Lily's sister walked down the stairs to join them. Now, Hana knew not to judge people that she'd just met, however, in the short time that she'd been at Lily's, Hana knew that she did not like Petunia. The girl was not only surly-looking, but she also made a point to diminish Lily's worth because she was a witch. It was also obvious, Hana had determined, in the few days that she'd spent at the Evans', that Petunia also held no appreciation towards her either. She was a 'freak', a 'foreigner', a witch. And even though Lily insisted on being nice with her, Hana couldn't find it in her heart to do the same. One morning, as Hana was heading into the bathroom to wash her face, Petunia had tripped her, and so, as revenge, Hana had emptied Petunia's lotion bottle into the toilet and filled it with mayonnaise. The screams were wonderful.

Now, it was the day before they had to return to Hogwarts, and everyone was getting ready to go out. Today was the day of the festival in London, and while Petunia was fuming over having to spend an hour and a half in the car with two witches, Lily and Hana were ecstatic. The Japanese girl had hyped up the festival for her friend so much that she was almost more excited for it than to return to Hogwarts the next day. As Hana changed in the bathroom, Lily sat outside the door and listened to her speak of the festivals from back home, where the cherry blossom petals draped the ground like a blanket of pale pink. The petals blew in the wind and fell into everyone's hair like snow in spring.

"And it always smelled so good. The flowers I mean. I can never forget that smell."  
"Must've been amazing, Hana," Lily said with a gentle smile.  
"It really was."

Hana soon emerged, clad in a sky blue yakata that was speckled with embroidered white blossoms. The obi was a raspberry red, and a lovely dragonfly brooch was clipped to the front.

"What! You look so fancy!"  
"Technically, this is the least formal kimono," Hana chuckled. "And I still have to put up my hair."  
"Woah, I want to wear one now..."  
"I do have an extra yukata with me. I wasn't sure which one I'd want to wear so I brought both that I had with me-"  
"You'd let me wear it!?"  
"Of course! It's a festival, you're sort of supposed to."  
"Yes, yes, yes!"

Soon enough, Lily was also clad in a yukata, this time green in colour, with embroidered leaves forming a subtle pattern. The obi was cream coloured, and a butterfly brooch was clasped to the front. Hana put up Lily's hair first, then put up her own, and then both girls were ready to go to the Spring Festival. Of course, Lily had tossed her camera to her parents and asked them to take pictures of them clad in their lovely outfits, to which Petunia's only response was to roll her eyes and gag, and then they were off. With Petunia on one side, Lily in the middle and Hana on the other, the backseat was filled with joy and a little discomfort being bunched up together, but it was nothing compared to the reward of attending the festival.

It was more grandiose than Hana had been expecting, and most of the Japanese quarter was filled with people of all ethnicities. The festival was a place of unrestrained joy. The costumes and yukata were as colourful as a summer garden, a riot of colour to rival the rainbow itself. Bold yellows, magenta, cyan and emerald green, there were sequins sparkling in the brilliant afternoon sun and petals from baskets being tossed from balconies up high to mimic the cherry blossoms. Music filled the air, festive beats that Hana recognised lifted the spirits and made the people want to move, jump and sing. Hana and Lily marched down the middle of the crowd, the latter taking pictures as she went, with bubbles and petals mingling in the air before their eyes. Food sellers weaved through the masses, and Hana made Lily try a plethora of Asian street foods that she'd never forget, and the aroma of their wares perfumed the air. The parade and the performers danced their way down the street that was usually jammed with cars, but today it was a time to celebrate the spring and the life that it brought, celebrate the wonders of the earth, to be one with the community.

"Oh my god, what is this?" Lily asked, chewing on something that Hana had given her.  
"It's _taiyaki_. Basically it's a fried pastry filled with anything from red bean paste, to custard, to chocolate. The custard ones are my favourite."  
"Hana," Lily said very seriously all of a sudden.  
"Uh, yes?"  
"We're coming back next year."

Hana laughed and agreed, and both girls enjoyed the festival until the fireworks came out and they had to return home to get some rest, as the train wouldn't wait for sleepy little girls drunk on happiness.


	13. You Promised, Remember?

The train ride back to Hogwarts had been longer than the ride out. Neither Lily nor Hana were disappointed to return, but it was safe to say that they both would have preferred to have another few days to themselves. At least they made some memories that they'd never forget. Hana had even agreed to pose for some pictures, but never with a smile, only with grimaces. Lily liked them anyway, and a few of them were stashed in one of Hana's bags. She planned on pinning them to her four-poster when she went to her dorm.

The welcome feast was as grand as usual. Different kinds of food had been laid out on each house table, and the Great Hall was filled with the sounds of avid chattering. Hana had invited Severus and Lily to the Ravenclaw table with her and Noah to talk about their holiday. Noah didn't have much to share, other than there were too many relatives in his house this week, all of them talking about the horrible news they'd read in the Daily Prophet. He also asked Hana to sniff his hair a few times, worried that he still smelled like his aunt's perfume even though he'd showered twice after she'd left.

"How was your holiday Severus?" Lily asked, digging into her curry.  
"Got around to reading The Picture of Dorian Grey, like you recommended."  
"Oh, you mean, _Selling Your Soul For a Picture Probably Isn't Worth It_ ?"  
"Hana..."  
"_Narcissism and Consequences_," Severus added nonchalantly.  
"_Although I'm a Complete Wanker, I am In Fact a Victim of Suggestion Under the Influence of Another Complete Wanker_."   
"_I'm a Murderer But Everything is Perspective_."  
"_If You're Not Young and Pretty You Might As Well Just Die_."  
"You guys are impossible..."

* * *

Finally. Some time alone.

After her classes of the day, Hana slipped away from all her friends and was soon passing the sign to the library that read, _A warning: If you rip, tear, shred, bend, fold, deface, disfigure, smear, smudge, throw, drop, or in any other manner damage, mistreat, or show lack of respect towards this book, the consequences will be as awful as it is within my power to make them_. Hana rolled her eyes and pushed open the doors. It never stopped to amaze her how big this library was; tens of thousands of books; thousands of shelves; hundreds of narrow rows. Hana violated the reference section. So much that she had to make a few trips from the shelves to her chosen table to stack books. A few students looked on, concerned, but seeing the Ravenclaw uniform she donned they stopped asking questions.

One Thousand Magical Herbs & Fungi, Common Magical Ailments & Afflictions, Healer's Helpmate, Healing at Home with Herbs, Weird Wizarding Dilemmas and Their Solutions - all of them amongst dozens of books now open on her table. Hana's hair was up in a frenzy, an unused quill holding it together. Her left hand was hovering over books, shaking lightly, her right flipping through common ailments. Something was wrong with Remus, and whether he liked it or not, Hana was going to help him. If only she could just figure out what it is was wrong with him.

And then something hit her. It was the timing, the spacing, the frequency of his sickness. It usually lasted a week, and that was about the duration of the common cold, however, a cold didn't knock you out for days and make you look like you'd seen death and barely lived to tell the tale.

Hana stood, nearly knocking her chair back, and headed back to the rows of books, running her fingers along the spines. Her fingers landed on the book that she wanted, but she hesitated a moment before grabbing it. It was a third year's textbook for Defense Against the Dark Arts, and rifling through it Hana found her hand started to shake even more. When she dropped the book, she cursed quietly at her trembling hand.

"Just work, damn it."

Heaving a large sigh, Hana picked up the book with her right hand and returned to her table. She watched herself flex her fingers, annoyed, until her hand steadied, and then returned to turning pages.

"Hags... Redcaps... Hinkypunks..." Hana paused on page 394. "Let's see... pallor, ill health... irritability... tiredness - Oh, Rem. Why didn't you tell us about this?"  
"Tell you what?"

Hana couldn't have slammed the book faster than she did then. Severus was standing across the table, an eyebrow raised at her. He wouldn't have questioned the sudden movement had he not seen the tremor in her left hand again.

"Ignore that," Hana said, crossing her arms. "And what I said. I'm just babbling and searching for something. I'm in one of those frenzies, you know?"  
"I can tell by the rat's nest on your head," Severus said plainly as he sat down. He moved a few pillars of books out of the way so that he could see Hana. "And the fact that half your uniform in hanging off your chair."  
"It's just my cloak, cardigan and tie. So, yeah, basically my entire uniform - you're right. Damn it. Well, at least we aren't keeping score."  
"Maybe we should. I'd win by a landslide."  
"As if," Hana scoffed. She stood and began collecting books. "Ugh, why'd I grab so many..."  
"Because you're insane."  
"Thank you, Captain Obvious. You going to help me or not?"  
"I came here to study, not to pick up your mess," Severus said, scribbling in a textbook.  
"Rude."

Hana rolled up her sleeves, got her hair out of her face and began bringing stacks of books back to their rightful places. By the time she was done, the library was closing and Madam Pince was shooing out the last of the students into the hallway, including Hana, who'd just barely had enough time to collect her bag and most of her uniform before the door was slammed behind her.

"God woman..." she muttered to herself.  
"At least you weren't locked in."  
"You waited for me, Severus?"  
"I thought you'd get locked in and wanted a good laugh," he said, starting to walk off.  
"You're a complete arse, Severus Snape," Hana chuckled.

As she ran to catch up to Severus, Hana haphazardly threw on her cardigan and cloak. After slowing down to his side, she took her tie and used it as a bandanna to keep her hair in place. The boy beside her looked sceptical about her 'look', but nearly laughed when she posed with her tongue sticking out at him.

"You're mad, Yukimura."  
"Hana."  
"Whatever."

Hana smiled. The two friends continued down the darkened halls of Hogwarts in complete silence. It was somewhat comforting, like a silence between two long-time friends even though they weren't at all. They arrived first to the doors to the dungeons, and as Severus was heading down the dark stairs Hana followed.

"Hey, Severus?"  
"You're going to get us caught out after curfew," he said, deadpan, as he continued down the stairs.  
"Right," Hana said quietly. "Nevermind then. I'll see you tomorrow in Defense Against the Dark Arts."

She calmly turned and went back up the stairs.

"You know, if you keep using that tone of voice I might start feeling guilty."

Hana stopped and turned. Severus had come back up a few steps. He looked annoyed and probably was more than she thought, but Hana was grateful that he'd stopped to listen.

"Before break... Did something happen? When you were late to class, I mean."  
"Oh, that," Severus said sharply. "No. I was just late."  
"Sev?"  
"What?"  
"I know you're lying," Hana said calmly.  
"I'm not lying."  
"You promised you'd tell me if anything was wrong. Remember?

Just as Severus was about to speak, Hana held up a hand to silence him. Her voice was calm when she spoke, but her eyes were cold.

"Just remember that you promised, all right?" Hana smiled sadly. "Goodnight, Severus."


	14. Sealed Fate

"You're going to fall off your broom, you know."  
"Shut up, Snowflake, I got this! Just watch the master!"  
"Right... is that why you're face-first on the ground?"

It was a sunlit day of late spring, and the sky held a soft blue glow. The weather was the kind that felt like a kiss of summer without the fiery heat of noontime in August. The grass was a soft green, and its colour was now stained onto Sirius' cheek. Hana stopped midair to laugh at him, and James, Remus and Noah laughed as well.

"Oi! You're no better Xiang!"

Sirius, from below, tapped on Noah's foot. Because Noah was such a poor flier, that was all it took to send him toppling off his broom and crashing into the boy who'd caused this in this first place.

"Children, this is no time for leisure!" Madam Hooch shouted, rushing over to get both boys back on their brooms. "Come now! Laps, please!"

Hana laughed again, and she and James sped off before Sirius could join them. Noah stuck to the ground, as he wasn't confident being more than two feet above it. But after spending a lot of time flying alongside James and Sirius these past few months, Hana had grown quite adept at it herself. Rolls and loops came gradually with bravery - as well as some coaxing from James - and soon they were both the best fliers in their year.

James liked it because he thought he looked all cool in front of Lily, but Hana liked it just for the feeling of the wind through her hair. She'd always loved the wind - it reminded her of home. In the cooler months, it roused her to wakefulness when she forgot to close the windows the night before. In soft breezes, it was finer than silk, smoother than water. In the gusts it sang through the fields, sending loose leaves on a dancing funfair which Hana loved to follow. In the summertime, the wind was cooling, allowing the warmth to gently enter muscle and bone while the skin remained at ease. Today was no different. Out in the sun, Hana absorbed the bright light and the colours, taking a moment to watch the snitch that a Gryffindor had let loose by accident.

* * *

In ancient times, men used the magical symbols in the night sky for navigation. These star patterns saved a lot of lives in the old ages. Some stars faded, other still shone, each one of them having its own unique shape, level of brightness and size. Today, these stars were being observed by millions of people blanketed in the darkness of the night.

Here, at Hogwarts, it was midnight, and dozens upon dozens of brass and silver telescopes were gleaming in the starlight. It was a perfect night for stargazing, cloudless and still. The grounds were bathed in silvery moonlight, and there was a slight chill in the air. Professor Sinistra weaved through the students and pointed out their mistakes, then guided them through the sky and to the correct answers. All was quiet except for the rustle of parchment, the occasional creak of a telescope as it was adjusted on its stand, and the scribbling of many quills.

Hana took a sip of water from her gourd. Beside her, James and Sirius were trying hard not to giggle too loud looking through their telescopes at enlarged and distorted versions of themselves. Noah was jotting down notes on a roll of parchment every few seconds, occasionally glancing back into the spyglass for reference. However, Remus was concentrated - too concentrated. Every once in awhile he nervously looked up at the nearly full moon.

"Hey, Rem?"

Remus hummed in acknowledgement.

"You okay? You're staring at the moon as if it were going to eat you."  
"Hm... yeah..."

Hana frowned.

"Rem, my skin is turning purple."  
"Yeah..."  
"Rem, the telescope is stuck in my eye."  
"Yeah..."  
"Rem, I'm dying."  
"WHAT!?"

The shriek pierced the night, and the clatter of Remus' telescope added insult to injury. Professor Sinistra scolded them both and Remus spent the next few minutes apologizing profusely. James, Sirius and Noah laughed for a while, but Sinistra ended up scolding them too.

"Hana!" he whispered loudly. "Was that necessary?"  
"Dude, I told you my skin was turning purple and you didn't move an inch," Hana sighed, writing something down on her parchment. "I was asking whether you were okay or not."  
"Oh, uh, yeah, I'm fine."

Hana pulled a face and sighed. Clearly he wasn't fine. His mind was someplace else, his skin was sallow and he looked like he hadn't slept in days. No wonder - the full moon was three days away.

And it was on that night that Hana did something rather... uncalculated.

A milky white light poured into the room, spilling across the floor in a large puddle. All the plants that Hana had accumulated during the year soaked up the valuable, pale light cascading over their leaves. The light flowed throughout the room and onto Hana's bed, rousing her from the light slumber she was in.

Without waking up her roommates, Hana tiptoed to the edge of her bed and swung on her cloak. She slipped on a pair of thin shoes, grabbed her wand and crept outside of her dorm room. The halls were dark and dimly lit with only a few torches, and it was hard to wander about the castle without running into a teacher or a ghost wandering about, looking for students out of bed. It didn't help that the caretaker was nearly burning with the desire to punish students. The next time Hana would do this, she'd have to memorise the staffs' rounds.

Suddenly, Hana heard voices ahead and hid behind a suit of armour in the entrance. It was Madam Pomfrey, who was rushing Remus out of the castle. She followed them out, and Hana suppressed a shiver. It was colder than she expected it would be. Nevertheless, Hana followed her friend and the nurse down through the courtyard, over the castle grounds and directly towards the large and quite violent Whomping Willow.

Curious, Hana got a little closer. Madam Pomfrey pointed her wand at something in the ground and as soon as she did, the unruly swinging branches of the willow halted just long enough for Remus to scurry underneath it. After a moment, Madam Pomfrey returned in the direction of the castle. Without much thought, Hana walked up to the tree. She tried to look around for whatever it was that Madam Pomfrey had used to calm the tree, but one of the branches came swinging at her before she could find it. She dodged it narrowly by throwing herself out of the way, but her back landed on something rather hard. All of a sudden, the tree's branches calmed.

"A knot..." Hana muttered, looking down. "Useful."

Hana looked up ahead and darted for a dark opening in the roots of the branches. She tumbled down the hole and eventually halted at the base.

"Ah, _kuso_..." she muttered under her breath. She brought her hand up to her side and winced. "That's going to bruise."

Painfully, Hana stood up and wandered down the earthy hallway before her. The surroundings were damp and cool, and Hana could barely see more than a few feet ahead of her. It was eerily quiet, nothing but the occasional sound of water dropping to the ground reached Hana's ears.

With her fingertips grazing the wall, serving as a guide in the darkness, Hana continued down the path, hoping for an exit. Eventually, there came the light at the end of the tunnel. Above her was a small trap door, and it took everything for Hana to climb up and crawl out of the tunnel. Beyond the trap door was a room, a very disordered, dusty room. Paper was peeling from the walls; there were stains all over the floor; every piece of furniture was broken as though somebody had smashed it. The windows were all boarded up, and it seemed as though the door that once served as an exit was also boarded up.

Further ahead, there was a foyer and a staircase that lead to a second floor. For a moment, Hana wondered how stable it would be, and if it'd collapse under her meagre weight if she decided to venture up there. However, her attention was soon brought to the boy who was kneeling at the centre of the foyer. He was shaking and breathing heavily. Hana took out her wand and cautiously approached him.

"Rem... is that you?"

It was clearly Remus' face that looked back at her through the darkness, however, as he got closer, it seemed as though he was looking less and less like himself. From the shadows came a wolf, but it wasn't an ordinary one. The snout was shorter, the tail tufted, its eyes human. It took a step forward, and Hana's breath caught in her throat. The silence was gone, the beating of her heart had grown louder and pounded in her head like a drum. Alongside it was the sound of the creatures' breathing, taking in Hana's foreign scent. The girl took a step back, and the werewolf curled up its gums to reveal yellow stained teeth. A low rumbling growl filled the room.

This might've been Remus mere seconds ago, but that kind boy was gone now. Hana knew that, and she knew that if she didn't do something soon, her fate would be sealed. In seconds, her throat would be ripped out, flesh consumed, blood staining the dusty old floors. It was only a matter of time... or luck.


	15. "Sleep Walking"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!   
I'm sorry about the inconsistent updates. I'm in the middle of my finals week so things are a bit hectic. But fear not, next week all of it is over and I'll be able to have a normal schedule again.  
Thanks for your continued support ❤️

Lady Luck, it would seem, was not on Hana's side on this brightly moon-lit night.

Remus' pale and sallow skin had split like tree bark. Wiry black hairs had sprouted, and his kind brown eyes melted into a vicious yellow. His bones moved under his skin like mechanical snakes; audible cracks sliced through him and his feet cemented into the ground. He was not himself anymore; he was a monster. A monster whose snapping jaws were heading directly for Hana's head.

She tried to dodge the snarling maw, and she did, but only just. While the sharp teeth didn't reach her, the werewolf's claws grazed her arm. Hana breathed in sharply and looked to her arm. A few beads of blood were blooming. She didn't have time to analyse more. The werewolf ran at her again, and this time Hana ran up the stairs, which seemed much more safe now that there was a werewolf in the room. One of the floorboards gave way, and her leg went through. There was blood on her shin now. Panicked, Hana pulled out her leg, disregarding the injury that she was worsening, and dashed up the rest of the way.

She bolted into the first room she reached and slammed the door shut. Perhaps, in retrospect, there was no point in locking the door with a simple spell, but it relieved some form of stress in Hana's mind. At least until the werewolf burst in through the door as if it were wafer-thin. Hana pointed her wand at the werewolf, and it didn't even pause before it. For a moment, Hana remembered that it was Remus deep down inside. Some part of her wanted to try and reason with the beast, try and pry Remus from the depths of the creatures black heart, but the Ravenclaw knew all too well that that was quite useless, and so she put the only offensive spell she knew to the test. Would it work on such an immense creature?

"I'm sorry about this, Rem." Hana took a deep breath. "Flippendo!"

A pale blue light shot out from the tip of Hana's cherry-wood wand and hit the werewolf straight in the face. It fell back a few feet and destroyed one of the posts on a rather nice-looking but dusty bed. It went to come back for her again, but Hana shot the same spell at it once again. It seemed as though the second shot was more effective. Although it hadn't sent the werewolf much further than the last spell, the creature seemed at least wearier of the wand-wielder and jogged out of the room and down the stairs.

Hana's breath was shaky, and she could finally hear that now that the beating of her heart had slowed greatly. Soon the shock wore off, and the pain in her arm and leg became all too great. However, it wasn't over yet. Whatever this house was, and whatever it had been used for in the past, it was clear to Hana that it was now the perfect place to contain a rampaging werewolf. The problem was that Hana couldn't hear any more growls or snarls. The creature had gotten away, and there was still a long way to go before the break of dawn broke the curse on Remus. So, Hana ran after the beast. Once again, against her better judgement. Though, if she thought long and hard enough, she could reason that she was protecting herself, the students, Remus himself. She'd bring the werewolf back to the creepy old shack and she'd keep him there. There was no use getting anyone else involved or even hurt.

Yes. Yes, that made sense.

Hana jumped over the hole in the staircase and crawled back down the hole that she came from. She stared at the opening when she landed. One day, Remus would be too big to crawl back in his werewolf form. How long would that be, she wondered. Probably in her third year. Remus looked like the type to grow an entire foot overnight.

She nodded, content with her thinking, and went off. She crawled up the hole and evaded the Whomping Willow's branches, then dashed into the nearby forest, hoping that that was where the werewolf had gone. Soon thereafter, her clothes and hair began to cling to her skin, slick with perspiration. Hana swatted a mosquito. She could feel and hear her heartbeat again - it was throbbing inside her almost painfully. Eventually, she slowed to a slow jog and then a full halt. She was wheezing, lungs burning for air. After all this running around a forest with quite the forbidden entry, her legs felt sore, numb and unsteady. Her throat was dry, and she silently prayed for this to come to an end. And then an idea came.

"Hana Yukimura, you're going to get yourself killed," she muttered to herself.

The girl coughed once, clearing her throat, and then howled as loud as she could despite her dry throat being dangerously out of breath. There was no movement. Slowly, Hana began to retrace her steps, howling every few feet to attract the beast's attention. Once she made it to the clearing, Hana thought all was lost. However, a low howl echoed back towards her. The Ravenclaw howled again. It was only seconds before the same deep howl returned.

Then, a few hundred feet away, Hana spotted the werewolf.

"Oh, shit."

The girl burst into a run again. The only thing keeping her going was the pure adrenaline rushing through her veins, that as well as the fear of being eaten alive by one of her friends.

Once again, she dodged the Whomping Willow and found the knot in the ground, pressed it firmly with her wand, and watched the willow slow down to a docile state. Hana waited for the werewolf to be close enough before diving down into the hole and running back up to the shack where this all started. However, this time, Hana waited by the opening. When the werewolf went through, she knocked over some heavy furniture with her only offensive spell, blocking the creature's return to the outside world. Now, all that remained was herself and the wolf within the confines of a small decrepit shack.

Hana didn't waste any time using the Knockback Jinx again, and as the wolf flew back a few feet, the girl hid behind a large wardrobe. Rationally, Hana knew that this wouldn't do much. After all, the werewolf could probably smell her. However, the creature seemed to have lost interest. It couldn't see the prey, the passage was blocked. Hana peeped around the wardrobe, and she kept an eye on the werewolf. If she was being honest with herself, Hana didn't want to keep an eye on it. It was vicious. With nothing left to attack, the beast began attacking itself, lacerating its own skin with its long and sharp claws. Hana choked down a cry. Even though it was the werewolf hurting itself, it would be Remus who'd be left to suffer after all this.

The werewolf let out a pained cry as it slashed at its face. Hana couldn't bear to watch anymore. So she turned to back to the werewolf and steadied her breathing. Hoping that this nightmare would come to an end. But it wouldn't for many more hours, and when it did end, it wasn't pleasant all the same. The werewolf's cries mingled with the growing sobs of a young boy until all that was left was silence.

Deciding it safe, as the sun had begun to rise, Hana came out from her hiding spot, wand pointed directly in front of her. She was understandably fearful. After all, the gashes on her arm and legs weren't an illusion. The small broken boy in front of her was a full werewolf only a few hours ago, and she couldn't really take any chances. Hana poked him once or twice with her wand, and then shrugged off her cloak. She draped it over Remus and considered waiting until he woke up, however she really couldn't afford to miss classes at this point in the term, so Hana, with immense difficulty, lugged Remus over her shoulder, and carried him all the way to the castle, not without a few stumbles and falls along the way.

Poppy Pomfrey barely knew what to say when the two eleven-year-olds wandered into her infirmary. She managed a small shriek and muttered a few things for Hana to fetch before sending her off to her dorm room. She didn't like the idea of leaving Remus so soon, but it was clear that Madam Pomfrey didn't want her there, for whatever reason. So, Hana trekked back to her dorm room, full of blood, dirt and grime, and collapsed onto her bed for a mere half-hour, before the cuckoo-clock one of the sisters had put up woke her from much-needed sleep.

Hana lumbered over to the bathroom and turned on the water in the shower. Her toes flinched as they touched the cold water. She adjusted the temperature and let her body sag under the warm water. Her hair flattened and darkened, not that it could, as it was about as black as Sirius' surname, and the grime slowly began to rinse off. As she scrubbed, some red trickled down and mingled at the bottom of the tub. Hana watched it go down the drain with a mixture of fascination and horror. She took a much longer shower than usual, sitting at the bottom of the bath for a while, contemplating everything that had happened.

Remus was a werewolf. She'd seen it with her very eyes. He'd attacked her - or at least the werewolf did. She was injured. And Hana was somehow... unbothered by it. She was more fascinated than horrified, looking back at the blood going down the drain. She'd learned something incredible, albeit terrifying, and yes she'd gotten injured, but Hana was more concerned with the fact that she'd have to explain the small limp and the gash on her arm.

"Good God, woman!" Noah had exclaimed, upon seeing her as she exited the bathroom. "You look like you wrestled a Manticore in your sleep."  
"It was a Werewolf," Hana replied, deadpan. She sat at the edge of her bed and put on her shoes. "Nearly killed me. Twice. Or was it three times?"  
"Merlin... did you sleep at all?"  
"A refreshing thirty minutes, I think."  
"Oi! What's that on your arm!?"

Hana looked down at her arm. She was too tired and lazy to bring down her sleeve. Screw it, she thought. Make something up.

"_Shirimasen_. Probably sleep-walked and got in a fight with a suit of armour or something."  
"You know, however unlikely that sounds, I wouldn't put it past you."

Crisis averted. Hana breathed a slow sigh of relief, and finally lowered her sleeve. They both packed up their things and left for breakfast. Noah noted that Hana was missing her tie, but she really hadn't the time or patience to go back for it, owing to the need to respond to a riddle when her brain was most likely working on only two per cent capacity. Instead, she'd take the docked points as per usual, and make a note to remember it for Friday instead. Of course, one of these days Flitwick would have her head for never wearing the uniform correctly, but honestly, that little goblin man needed to set his priorities straight. They'd both live peaceful lives with or without a tidy, or in this case, complete uniform.

"Yukimura. Your uniform is out of place again."

Hana rolled her eyes. Today it wasn't Flitwick that was going to dock her points, apparently it would be Slughorn, and honestly, she had better things to do that to watch that self-important man's moustache move. The girl turned and smiled sweetly.

"I'm aware. Please, do take away house points as quickly as you can manage, sir. I'd quite like to eat breakfast."

Slughorn frowned upon seeing the lack of sleep that showed on her face, and he let her off with a warning before setting off to the teacher's table. Noah and Hana silently veered off towards the Gryffindor table.

"Oi, what is it that gave Slughorn such a-- GOD DAMN!" Sirius said, cutting himself off with a shout. "Those are the biggest eye-bags I have ever seen. Including on Remus."  
"Speaking of Remus, where is he?" James asked.  
"It's that weird time of the month he gets sick again, remember?" Noah commented, shoving a piece of pancake in his mouth.  
"Ohhh, is that why you didn't sleep? Were you up all night all scared and worried for your little Remus?"  
"Shut your gob, Potty," Hana snapped. "I had a sequence of nightmares which prevented me from getting any good night sleep and I'm pretty sure I sleep-walked around the castle and got into a fight with a suit of armour."

Sirius and James gaped at her.

"Excuse me... what?"


	16. Hide and Seek

The weekend had come quicker than any teacher would have liked. It meant that they'd have to deal with a fair amount of grading on homework while all the students were out and about the grounds of Hogwarts or, if they were third years and above, traipsing around Hogsmeade with their stomachs full of butterbeer. But despite the beautiful weather and the incredible amount of complaints from her friends, Hana remained indoors on Saturday. There were much more important things on her mind than prancing about the castle and lazying around the beech tree they spent most of their time at.

Instead, straight after breakfast, Hana made her way towards the infirmary. When she entered the room, Madam Pomfrey almost steered her out, but she recognised Hana immediately. She was the girl who brought Remus in.

"You're a lucky one."  
"Pardon?" Hana said, confused.  
"Firstly, you weren't seriously injured. Secondly, Dumbledore seems quite all right with you knowing about Mr Lupin's condition."  
"Well, I should hope so. I'm his friend."

Madam Pomfrey gave her a stern look.

"How long will you be staying?"  
"Not long. I just wanted to make sure he was okay."  
"Well, if he wakes up, you can take him with you. Mr Lupin has my all-clear to leave today." She picked up a bottle of translucent blue liquid. "Now, excuse me. I have other patients to tend to."

Hana nodded and went over to Remus' bed. He was still sleeping, but the colour had returned to his face, and whatever injuries he'd sustained two nights ago had healed up quite well. However, Hana noticed the new scar on his chin. Would Noah, James and Sirius notice too?

The girl stayed for a little while, sitting on a chair beside Remus' bed. She watched him breathe calmly and thought of many things. How could a sweet boy like Remus be cursed at such an age? How is it that no one had figured it out yet? Should she tell James, Sirius and Noah? One thing was for sure, Hana was going to go with him to that shack every month, and she was going to learn more spells. Someone had to keep Remus from hurting himself, and it wasn't as if anyone else was going to do it.

After a while, Hana got up and left the Hospital Wing. Remus didn't look like he was going to wake up for a while, so there wasn't any point in staying. Instead, Hana went to the library. There was a Charms paper due on Monday and she hadn't even started it yet. So, the Ravenclaw checked out a few books and left Pince's lair for the more favourable study spot of the odd circulation of rocks above the Gamekeeper's hut. There was a nice breeze, the sun was shining down, and the wildflowers' scent was delightful.

Hana was lucky that she hadn't been spotted by anyone she knew on her way down, as it would have been clear that she'd never get her Charms homework done if she had been. However, Hana hadn't been the only person looking to spend some time in this particular spot. Only a few minutes after Hana had settled down, and only just as she was about to begin studying, Lily and Severus showed up.

"Hana!" Lily said happily. "Oh, that's perfect!"  
"What is?" Hana asked, suddenly no longer annoyed by their presence and now only confused.  
"Well, you can keep Sev company."  
"Lily, I don't need to be babysat. Clearly, I can spend my time alone in the library," Severus complained.  
"Why? Where're you going?" Hana said, setting down one of her books.  
"Promised Mary MacDonald that I'd help her with Potions homework today. I'm off there now. I was just following Sev to wherever he was going so that I knew where to find him later," Lily explained, backing away. "I'll see you two later, yeah?"  
"See you, Lily!"

Lily waved and ran off, leaving Severus behind with Hana. He sat down, pulled out some of his own books, then looked at Hana straight in the face.

"You look like you died and came back to life."  
"That's very kind of you to say, Severus."  
"Did you even sleep?"  
"And why should I tell you? After all, you can't be bothered to tell me why you were late to class a few weeks ago."

Severus sighed.

"It was just a couple of fourth-years being fourth years. One of them nabbed my potions book and hid it. Spent most of the morning trying to find it. That's why I was late. You happy now?"  
"Yes. You give in so easily, Severus," Hana laughed.  
"Shut up. I just didn't want to hear to whine about it anymore. Even Lily's been giving me grief about it."  
"Then don't hide anything from us, _baka_."  
"Yeah, yeah."  
"Now, if you don't mind, I've got two feet of parchment to write for Charms on Monday," Hana said with a sigh.   
"Want me to leave?"

Hana looked at Severus and blinked stupidly.

"Leave? Why?"  
"To leave you alone? So you can concentrate? Didn't you come here to be alone, anyway?" Severus said. "I can go to the library like I sai--"

Hana chuckled.

"I'm not going to kick you out of here, Severus. You don't bother me."

The girl smiled briefly at him and reopened her books. All of a sudden, there was a yell nearby, followed by laughter.

"Who the fuck--"  
"Language," Severus said calmly.  
"Sorry. Whom the fuck--"  
"No."

Hana sighed and rolled her eyes, then tossed her book aside.

"But seriously though, who's the idiot?" She crawled over to the edge of the cliff and looked down. "Oh."  
"Oh?"

The girl went back to her spot rather quickly.

"It's James and Sirius."  
"What the hell are they doing here?" Severus said angrily.  
"Pushing each other off pumpkins apparently," Hana sighed.

It really wasn't a good time for James and Sirius to be nearby. Not only was she trying to do her homework, which they'd never allow, but she was also in the presence of their number one enemy, Snivellus. To get back to the castle, they had to go through where Hana and Severus were minding their own damn business, so of course, they had to move if they wanted to remain in each other's company.

"I'm leaving. They have to come past here to get back to the castle".  
"Then I'm leaving too," Hana announced, also stuffing her books back into her bag.  
"What are you on about? They're your friends, aren't they?" Severus snapped.  
"Yes, but I did make a point to do my Charms homework, so I'll be following you to wherever it is you're going."  
"They'd never step foot into a library would they?"   
"Remus would, actually," Hana admitted.

Severus rolled his eyes, annoyed.

"I mean, Rem isn't ba--"  
"He just sits there and ignores everything like it's not happening!" Severus shouted. "He's even looked up once and done nothing anyway. Nothing!"  
"Fine. But it's not easy to find a spot the biggest trouble makers in school don't go to," Hana sighed. They'd reached the castle now, and they paused in the Entrance Hall. "Including the library apparently, because Remus might be there."  
"What about your Common Room?"

Hana looked at Severus straight in the eyes.

"Are you being serious right now? What about _your_ Common Room?"  
"No outsider has been in the Slytherin Common Room for centuries, I'm not about to break that record," Severus said quite calmly. "People from all houses go into your Common Room though."

Hana pulled a face at him.

"I, once again, thank no one in particular that we aren't keeping score."  
"Oh, I am. I'm up by four."  
"Bastard."

The two students walked through the school together. Others, seeing Severus walking with someone, assumed it was Lily Evans, but when they saw a second head of black hair instead of the bright red, they made a double-take. It was odd seeing Severus with anyone else than her, and it was odd seeing Hana with anyone other than the four other boys she spent most of her days with. But no one paid it much more thought, and they swiftly made their way up to Ravenclaw tower without any problems.

With the riddle answered, Hana and Severus entered the Common Room. Severus' eyes darted everywhere, in particular to the enchanted statue of a goblin that played an odd muggle tune that someone had asked it to play. No one in the room bothered to look up when a Slytherin entered and began wandering, and one of them even greeted Severus on their way out.

"This is bizarre," the boy whispered, staring at a girl practising Ovomancy.  
"It's just a form of Divination, Severus," Hana laughed. "Come on, I'll show you my dorm room."  
"Hilarious. I can't go in there."

Hana paused on the first step to the rooms.

"Why not?"  
"Have you forgotten that you're a girl and that I'm not?" Severus said, annoyed.  
"Well, no. What seems to be the problem?"  
"Isn't the staircase going to turn into a slide because that's the girl's dorm?"  
"Slide? Ravenclaws broke that Charm centuries ago, Severus. Whoever does the room plan knows this, because I share my room with two girls, Noah and another boy."  
"Fascinating."

Hana laughed and headed upstairs. Severus tentatively put his foot on the first step, and when nothing happened he went all the way up. Contrary to the Slytherin dorms, the Ravenclaw rooms were airy and bright. On the twins' side of the room, there were numerous piles of books that reached the top of the beds and clothes hanging off the four-posters either to dry or because it was one of the outfits they were contemplating wearing this morning. Nathan's side of the room was surprisingly tidy, just like Noah's was, and around Hana's bed were over a dozen plants. The small shrine for her mother was still upon her window sill, her embroidery equipment was on her nightstand, and over twenty-something pictures of herself, Lily, Severus and Noah were proudly pinned to the posts of her bed.

"If you want to wander, you can, but I don't recommend touching anything over there," Hana said pointing to the twins' beds. "If something is out of place they'll flip and I'm really in no mood to deal with another quarrel. Oh, hello, Haru."

A cat had made its way between Hana's legs, purring, and after inspecting Severus' ankles, he went up onto Hana's bed and curled up on the pillows. The girl tossed her bag onto the bed and tapped it twice with her wand. Instantly, it grew nearly twice as big, and Severus also had room to drop all of his things. Hana splayed out all of her books on the bed and settled down on her stomach to begin her work, while Severus sat on the floor at the end of the bed, his things all over the ground and blocking the way to the bathroom should anyone walk in for that purpose.

Both of them worked in silence, for the most part, asking each other for tips once in a while, and they stayed this way until the sun began to set. They forgot all about why they were hiding in Hana's dorm, that Lily was most likely looking for them, and that they had to eat supper. However, Noah had walked in and nearly tripped on all of Severus' things just before supper was served, so in the end, they didn't forget to eat. All was well.

At least... for the time being.


	17. Lycanthropy

"Where _have_ you been!?"

Lily's complaint was loudly heard throughout the Great Hall as Noah, Hana and Severus walked in. It seemed she had been waiting for them, unable to find her friends in the place that she'd left them. It was supper time now, and the Great Hall was alive with laughter and the scent of various foods. The teachers were all seated at the head table, chatting quietly, and the ghosts were floating about, jealous about the food they'd never get to eat again.

"Lily!" Hana gasped, putting her hands up to her mouth. "We completely forgot! There was James and Sirius, and well Severus needed to avoid them so we left and-"  
"Don't panic, Hana!" Lily reassured. "You weren't by the rocks when I got back, so I got worried. I ended up going back to spend time with Mary. Where were you anyway?"  
"We were in Hana's Common Room," Severus said plainly. He glanced at Hana's hands. One of them was shaking. "It was my idea. We were doing homework. You didn't miss much."  
"Well, I missed the Ravenclaw Common Room!" Lily whined. "I can't imagine how cool it must be!"

Hana's hand continued to shake until she was seated at the Ravenclaw table beside Noah, and across from Lily and Severus. It was as she was pouring herself a cup of tea that the nerves eased and her tremor disappeared. The scent of jasmine filled her nostrils as she took a sip, and her whole body relaxed as the warm liquid travelled down her throat. She then enjoyed some karaage and a bowl of miso soup, while everyone else ate something that suited their taste.

After the feast, Hana and Noah parted ways with Severus and Lily and headed up to their Common Room. Hana's things were still all splayed out on her bed, so she spent the next few minutes putting everything away while everyone else got ready for bed. Nathan was the first to go, and he slid the curtains to his bed shut, followed by Tulip and Violet who didn't even bicker for once in their lives.

"Hey, those things are soundproof, right?" Hana asked Noah as he exited the bathroom.  
"What, the curtains? Yeah, why?"  
"I need to tell you something, or I'm going to go crazy. But you have to promise not to tell anyone, not even James or Sirius, all right?"  
"Um, sure?" Noah said, his confusion growing. He sat on Hana's bed alongside her. "What is it?"  
"Well... You know, I don't even know if I should be telling you this..."  
"You brought it up. Spill."

Hana sighed.

"Remember the other night? I came back with this gash on my arm?" she said, pulling up her sleeve to reveal a mostly healed injury. "Well, I lied. I've never sleep-walked a day in my life."

Noah's eyebrows furrowed.

"I went out because I was... curious. Remus had been acting weird for too long and well, I figured out why."  
"Why?"  
"I followed him and Madam Pomfrey all the way out to the Whomping Willow. He disappeared into the roots, so I followed. There's a tunnel. I don't know how long it is, but it leads all the way to a shack. And well, Remus was there... but not for long."  
"What do you mean? Hana, what's wrong with- oh. It was a full moon wasn't it."  
"Yes. Yes, it was, Noah."

* * *

It a mid-May morning. The sky was one of those baby-blue ones, not the psychedelic candy-blue nor the washed-out grey of London. The clouds were puffs of radiant joy, ready to disperse into the wind. After waking up and saying a short prayer to the shrine dedicated to her mother, Hana opened the window. She stretched out her arms into the early morning. It was going to be a fine day, she thought. Hana could always tell when she couldn't feel the temperature of the air. Outside had the sweet fragrance of freshly cut grass and the birds chattered in the nearby trees. The sun was already a friendly ball of yellow above, promising for more heat as the day progressed. All in all, she couldn't have asked for better weather, nor a better mood.

Strangely enough, Hana had woken up without issue. She hummed her way into the shower, hummed her way through it, and hummed as she lazily draped her tie around her neck. Noah would have thought her insane if he didn't know what was up. It was a Friday, which meant - Flying class. Not only did Hana enjoy the feeling of being on a broom, she'd come to enjoy doing dives and rolls and loops during her classes. She'd become quite adept at it, as had James, and both of them were always competing with each other, which was quite the annoyance for Madam Hooch, as she had to threaten them with detention to keep them in line and with the program. Although, Hana and James were quite ahead of the rest of the class. However, she didn't dare bring that up with Madam Hooch. That'd surely earn her detention.

"I can't wait for Quidditch tryouts next year," James sighed, as he and Hana returned to their spots between Noah and Sirius. "This is boring as hell."  
"I want to try out for my team too," Hana admitted. "Seems fun, but do I really want a bludger wailing after me game after game?"  
"Come on, Snowflake," Sirius piped up. "You'd do great! Maybe you'd even pick up after you house's team."  
"Oh shush, at least we aren't Hufflepuff," Hana chuckled. "They haven't managed to win a match in ages!"  
"All right! That's enough floating around!" Madam Hooch called. "Laps! Everyone, I want laps!"  
"Race you!" James shouted, then sped off.  
"_Kono yarō _!"

The wind would greet concrete and skin just the same, yet Hana was blessed to feel it. She grew strong against it; muscles working all the more to stay upon her broom, to make it go faster. Hana watched the trees goo by at rapids speeds. When she passed James, she let out a cheer. Then Hana tossed her head back and raised her eyes to the sky, a smile spreading from cheek to cheek. The wind tousled her hair and in its chaotic dance, it was beautiful to see pure joy on the girl's face for once. It wasn't an opportunity Lily missed, and a moving snapshot was taken. Hana's mind was relaxed, happiness bubbling from within, and everyone could see it. Were it not for James passing her again, Hana would have cheered, but instead, she tensed her muscles and leaned forward, trying desperately to increase her speed even more.

"Enough! Enough! Potter! Yukimura! Do I have to give you detention!?"

James and Hana, now side by side, laughed together and slowed down, eventually landing near Madam Hooch who smacked them upside the head for going faster than allowed. But the two friends just laughed even more, and joining in that laughter was Sirius, Remus and Noah, as Sirius fell off his broom trying to show off again.

"Come on! You said you wanted to try out for the Ravenclaw team, you can't back out now because of a couple of Bludgers," Noah said, hopeful. "You'd wipe the floor with the Slytherin _and_ the Gryffindor!"  
"Well, I don't know about the Gryffindor," Sirius barked. "If James joins next year, you're going to have a run for your money, I bet!"  
"Fat chance of that," Hana said with confidence. "James and I have completely different kinds of flying prowess. I'm way more precise and agile than he is, so that'd make me a fair Seeker. James just likes to go fast and throw things - that's Chaser material. There's no way we could compete. Furthermore--"  
"Okay, all right. No rabbit holes, remember?" James laughed. "Just try out next year."  
"Yes, Mum."  
"Oi, who you calling _Mum _?"

The shrill sound of Madam Hooch's whistle rang through the air, signalling the end of the lesson and the start of the lunch period. The five friends headed into the castle, through the courtyard and down the hallways, all the way into the Great Hall. They sat at the Gryffindor table and stuffed their faces. Everyone except for Remus, who didn't seem to have the appetite. If Hana was being honest, ever since Remus had gotten out of the hospital wing the day prior, he'd seemed off. It was quite normal, considering what he'd gone through, but it seemed he'd made it a particular task to avoid eye contact with Hana.

He knew that she was aware of his condition. There was no other reason he would act this way.

After lunch, as James and Sirius dragged Noah ahead towards their beech tree, Hana tugged at Remus' sleeve to slow him down. He looked at her uncertain, and seeing the concern in his eyes, he came to a full stop, ignoring the shouts of their friends a ways away.

"Are you okay, Rem?"  
"Yeah," he replied quickly.  
"Rem, come on."  
"It's nothing. Just forget it. Forget everything."  
"Well, I can't just forget that," Hana said with a sigh. "I saw it with my own damn eyes."  
"You didn't see anything, Hana," Remus insisted.  
"Remus, I don't care!" She announced this quite loudly, and numerous people turned their heads. Hana waited a bit before continuing. "I don't care that you are what you are! You're my _tomodachi_, and I'll be damned if a stupid curse that you never wanted is gonna stop me. You could be a pygmy puff for all I care!"

A few tears were welling in the boys' eyes, and it took him everything not to spill them in the middle of the hallway.

"Really?"  
"Of course, Rem. And I'm going back to that shack every month to keep you from hurting yourself, too."  
"What? No!" Remus shouted. Hana had already begun walking away at this point, so he caught up to her at a jog. "You'll get hurt! I can't control myself, you know! I'm not me!"  
"I know, but I managed pretty well last time," Hana said proudly. "And maybe once I get better at magic, maybe I can... I don't know, find a way for you to keep your head while you transform. Clearly it's impossible to cure lycanthropy, which is quite unfortunate, but I suppose at least keeping your right mind would prevent you from hurting yourself, others and the like. Then maybe I could sell it. You know, for other werewolves and--"

Hana cut herself off.

"Sorry. Rabbit hole..."  
"No, no, keep going," Remus said with a smile.

Hana continued on her theories and came up with some more as she and Remus made their way towards the beech tree. They were deep in conversation when they arrived, and no one had the heart to stop them from talking. So they let them talk for what seemed like hours, about things only Noah secretly understood, until James got annoyed and threw grass at them so they'd shut up. Remus refused to tell Sirius, James and Noah about what they were actually talking about, and it was quite a laugh when Sirius made a scene. Something about mommy not telling daddy. Hana wasn't too sure. She was too focused on the water and its gentle ripples, with the sounds of her friends' laughter in the background.


	18. Proud

It was way too late to be awake. The curtains were closed on the four-poster bed, the wand-light making the tinsel sewn inside shine like thousands of stars. Books and various bits of parchment were strewn around the bed, and Hana was hunched over all of them, intently reading page two hundred and twenty-five of The Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts. It was a third-year textbook, and Hana wasn't sure how she could understand this, but she did - and it was essential that she did.

Tomorrow was the full moon.

As promised, Hana was going to accompany Remus during his transformation, and she'd spent the last few weeks, day-in and day-out, trying to learn a single spell to keep herself alive and to keep Remus safe. She had to sneak out again though. Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore might have been aware that she had stumbled upon Remus's transformation last month, but they surely weren't going to condone her going back. It was already suspicious that she'd gotten a few mysterious gashes overnight last month, and even Lily had asked questions.

This time, Hana went ahead of Remus. Just as the sun was starting to set, she left her Common Room and raced across the grounds. This time, she knew about the knot that'd still the tree and pressed it before going in any further. When the swinging branches of the Whomping Willow stilled, Hana dove underneath it and slid down the tunnel to the shack. She cleared the main room and put all the furniture against the walls, leaving one small space for herself to hide in case of emergency. The stairs to the second floor were cleared and repaired to prevent further injury, and just as the last step repaired itself, Remus walked into the shack.

He looked terrified, and he was. He couldn't believe his eyes. Hana was standing right there, looking determined, and yet she knew that she was going to be attacked in mere minutes. He'd never seen something like that. A friend, willing to risk her life for him. And now, as the pale moon rose into the sky, Hana was seeing something her eyes wouldn't ever be able to erase. The adrenaline flowed through her veins like a barracuda through the ocean, but she couldn't move a single muscle, not even to point her wand at Remus. The horror that was a werewolf transformation paralyzed her, the sounds of cracking bones and stretching flesh dominated her mind. The more she thought about it, the more she regretted her decision, but she had to do this. It was for Remus.

For Remus.

If you'd asked her after the whole thing what exactly had happened, she would never be able to tell you. She didn't remember who moved first or who attacked first, she just knew that something had happened. In reality, it was the werewolf that moved first, and right off the bat, Hana overcame her fear and shot him with the Knockback Jinx. The werewolf flew back several feet, her spell stronger than the last time she'd cast it. The creature landed in a large wardrobe and it shattered upon impact. Snarling, the beast got back up and lashed at Hana again, this time managing to slice his claws through the girl's shirt. Blood bloomed on her shoulder and the girl hissed in pain. Tears welled in her eyes but she blinked them back, moving just in time to avoid another attack.

When the werewolf reared back, Hana tried a new spell on it. With a large shout, Hana shot the creature with the Full-Bind Bind Curse. A white light shot itself from the tip of Hana's wand and hit the werewolf straight in the chest. As if a wave of water passed over it, the werewolf's limbs went stiff and it fell to the floor, immobile.

Hana stared at it for what seemed like a while. It had worked, but this spell was normally meant to be used on other witches and wizards, so she couldn't tell how long it would last. However, it lasted long enough for Hana to tend to her shoulder wound, and it was then that the werewolf began to stir again. It started with a growl and a full howl, and then teeth snapped just as the creature rose to bite Hana. The girl moved just in time and hit the beast with the Knockback Jinx again, pushing it out of her way.

Finally, it was starting to take a toll on Hana. It was barely halfway through the night, but she was exhausted.

"I'll get used to this as I go, I suppose," she muttered to herself as encouragement.

The werewolf growled at her again and its yellow eyes bore into the dark brown of her own.

"Come on, Rem, work with me here."

However, the beast just launched himself at Hana again. Instead of moving out of the way, the girl concentrated. She pointed her wand at the werewolf and muttered another spell - the most complicated one she knew. An orange spark shot out of Hana's wand and it hit the creature straight in the face. It paused for a split second, and then bones began to crack. Slowly, the werewolf's features melted into the face of the young boy Hana knew. His eyes were wide and terrified, and confusion filled his mind when he laid his eyes on Hana.

"H-How?"  
"Homorphus Charm. Temporarily reverts a werewolf to its original form," Hana said, out of breath. "Took me a while to get it right. Had to practice on some weird mod--"  
"Hana, I hurt you!" Remus exclaimed, eyes falling on her blood-stained shirt.  
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't worry about it, just calm down. Take a deep breath, for me okay?"

Remus nodded nervously but took a deep breath anyway. However, once his eyes fell upon the light of the moon again, the transformation recommenced.

"Hana!"  
"It's okay, Rem! I'm right here!"

The pained sounds of a young boy and the cracking of bones filled the shack once again. The full moon was beginning to descend, but the werewolf was still very much active. And the battle went on and on. The werewolf lashed out at Hana time and time again. She tried to push it away, bind it for short amounts of time, but after every spell, the creature seemed to be recovering faster and faster, as if the spells were having less and less effect. All she could do was push the werewolf away a little, wait for it to snap at her again, and then push it back again. At least, Hana thought, it was occupying him, and the werewolf didn't have to resort to hurting itself.

Only an hour ago the blackness was absolute, but now the mist was visible, silvery. Against this backdrop, the trees were silhouettes, still as an oil painting and darker than the ravens. Slowly, the moon's rays were replaced with the smallest amount of sunshine, and it was just enough to calm the rampaging werewolf. It took a few steps back from Hana, leaving her partially wounded on the first few steps to the upper-levels, and then sat, like a puppy, waiting. As Hana rose to her feet, she held her right shoulder in pain: something was clearly broken. She took a few steps towards her left and fetched a large blanket she'd found in the house before the night had started. As the werewolf slowly changed back into Remus, Hana covered him with the blanket. Once again, the trauma of transformation had knocked him out cold, so Hana swing the boy over her shoulder. She winced, her arm searing in pain, but she carried Remus to the castle as quickly as she could without dropping him and wandered once again into Madam Pomfrey's ward. Last time, she'd been able to tend to her own wounds with a bit of dittany, but this time she couldn't avoid the matron.

"You again!?" she shouted upon seeing Hana. "You are aware that must report this to the Headmaster? You could've gotten yourself killed! What were you thinking? Taking up a werewolf like that... Again!"  
"I couldn't just do nothing," Hana mumbled, sitting at the edge of Remus' bed.  
"This isn't some pixie you're dealing with, girl! That boy is a creature most foul and-"  
"It's not his fault. He didn't ask for this. So I'll be damned if I let him hurt himself." Hana was fuming, but her voice remained calm. "Remus isn't a creature, he's a boy. He's my friend. _Watashi wa tasukenakereba narimasen -_ I have to help."

Hana stared down the matron. While her eyes were fixed and unwavering, her disquiet could be seen on her left hand. It shook gently, though Hana was not paying it any mind.

"A noble gesture, I would think."

The soft voice came from the entrance to the ward. Hana looked over in surprise and saw that the Headmaster was standing there. By reflex, Hana stood and gave Dumbledore a quick bow. He chuckled lightly and smiled.

"It is good, Poppy, that you hold such concern for Miss Yukimura, but it is as she said: Mister Lupin did not ask for this illness. He should be treated with as much care as any other student, if not more," Dumbledore said. He turned to Hana, and she felt guilty all of a sudden. "It is my understanding, that you have been aiding your friend through his monthly transformations?"  
"Uh, well... Yes?"  
"Very good, very good." The Headmaster glanced at Remus for a moment. "I hope, for his sake, that you will continue?"  
"Albus!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed. "As matron of Hogwarts, I cannot condone this type of reckless behaviour."  
"Neither do I, Poppy, but-" Dumbledore turned to leave -"help will always be given to those who deserve it, and do you not think, Poppy, that our young mister Lupin deserves it?"

The matron stuttered a bit but ended up resuming her duties with an exasperated sigh. She'd begun working on Hana's arm when Dumbledore walked out, leaving Hana feeling rather proud of herself.


	19. Dandelion Seeds

Summer came quicker than Hana had anticipated. It didn't come gradually this year. Instead, one day it was perfect spring weather, the next, students could barely move the heat was so oppressive. Today, as Noah, Lily, Severus and Hana all sat together in the courtyard, the sunshine was in their bones, its heat radiating outwards in the bright day. They would have stayed indoors, but there was a breeze outside, and that was enough to keep them from peeling their skin off. It was on days like this that Hana was reminded of her home town in Japan.

June and July in Kunigami were the months of subtropical heat waves, shockingly humid afternoons and songs of cicadas. The heat would bounce off the streets, and cause an illusion of wavering images. There were some days where a handkerchief around your neck wasn't such a bad idea - days when the perspiration would surface on your forehead, your cheeks, the bridge of your nose, and run in rivulets down your face until you became sodden. There were some days that even the well habituated farmers couldn't adapt to such temperatures.

"Ugh, I'm dying," Lily exclaimed, flopping onto her back. She might have been wearing shorts and a t-shirt, but she was still overheating. "How're you guys not dying?"

While Hana and Noah were fairly comfortable in this weather, Severus wasn't. But despite the high temperatures, the boy refused to wear shorts or a t-shirt and stuck to his trousers and a jumper was two sizes too big for him. Hana could see the beads of sweat running down his temple, however, he didn't complain or even look like he was in any sort of discomfort.

"Summer weather in Japan is suffocating, this is nothing," Hana said, eyes fixed on the homework she was completing.  
"Okay, but Sev - you're wearing a jumper!"  
"It's comfortable."  
"It's thirty degrees," Noah noted, perplexed.  
"Just finish your homework, Lily," Severus grumbled. "It's due tomorrow before our exam."  
"How can I concentrate in this heat?" Lily complained.  
"She has a point. Increased temperatures aren't conducive to learning or productivity," Hana said, quill gliding across her parchment. "In fact, increased body temperature can lead to a lethargic state and can even cause irritability depending on the person." Hana glanced at Lily for a split second and smirked.  
"But you don't seem bothered!"  
"Again. I'm Japanese."

Lily groaned

"Hey, Noah. Try poking her to see if she'd crash or smack you."  
"Hey! Don't test me!" Lily exclaimed as the boy prodded her with the end of his wand. "Why'd there have to be a damn heatwave when final exams are coming!? Merlin's beard..."  
"Case and point - irritable."

Hana and Noah laughed as Lily huffed at them, and they continued their homework until the day was done and it was time to sleep. Thankfully, the heat had let up by the time that Hana and Noah had returned to their Common Room, so Hana kept the window open to let in a nice breeze to cool everyone down. She stared at the sunset for a little while, mind wandering, until she too finally went to bed, her head swimming with information waiting to be processed and the stress of exams coming up tomorrow. However, she fell asleep quite easily despite all this and woke up refreshed the next morning.

In the Great Hall, the usual smells and chatter came to greet Hana and Noah as they walked in. With the frenzy of the End-of-Term exams, many students in the Hall were cramming in some last-minute studying, but Hana didn't bother, and neither did Noah. Both found it much more important to go into their exams with full stomachs and light hearts, to alleviate some of the stress associated with them. Both Ravenclaw had decided to sit with their Gryffindor boys this morning, as a good laugh with them would most likely do them some good. Noah was especially nervous, desperate to prove to his parents that he himself and Hogwarts were worthy of their time.

"Oi, Snowflake! Think you're gonna ace all the exams?" Sirius called from beside James.  
"Of course, who do you think I am?" Hana scoffed, mouth full of waffles. "And stop calling me that."  
"Who do you think I am?"

Hana rolled her eyes.

"If I'm being honest, I expect to excel in all classes except maybe for History of Magic. But as long as I get an Acceptable, I'll be happy. Do you think you've studied enough to even pass, Black?"  
"I'm a natural-born genius, dear. Of course, I'm going to ace the tests."  
"_Baka_..."  
"I think I'll do all right," James said.  
"How modest," Noah noted.  
"After all, I'm also a natural-born genius."  
"I said nothing."

Unlike the usual, once you were done eating you had to exit the Great Hall, and those who weren't done by nine o'clock, were kicked out so that the tables could be removed and replaced by hundreds of little individual desks. The Great Hall was turning into the exam room for those taking their O.W.Ls or their N.E.W.Ts, and Hana couldn't be more thrilled she wasn't there yet. Hana, Noah, Remus, James and Sirius all exited at the same time and split up to make their way to their respective classrooms: the Ravenclaws would be taking their exam with the Slytherins.

Hana and Noah weaved their way through the crowd to find Severus. They wished good luck to Lily, who was leaving to go to her respective class, then made their way to their own classroom, ready to kick some exam butt. Their examiner was Professor Flitwick, and he handed out the examination papers first. He then gave a few quick explanations and cited all the banned items for exam taking before calling everyone one by one to make a pineapple dance across a desk. Hana did quite well and nearly laughed while her fruit did the Samba in front of her Head of House. Then she returned to her desk for the theoretical part of the exam.

Two hours went by fast, but Hana didn't see them go at all. It was when Flitwick called the last half hour that Hana realised how much time had actually passed. At this point, she was merely reviewing her answers, so there wasn't any worry, but looking around she found that a lot of people were still writing. Noah was also reviewing his exam answers, twirling his wand in one hand, looking quite bored; Severus seemed to be writing more than was required, his quill filling the parchment as much as it could; one of the other Slytherin had steadily fallen asleep on his desk; and one of Hana's fellow Ravenclaw had given up and resorted to making paper aeroplanes that zoomed around when Flitwick's back was turned.

"All right, time is up!"

All of a sudden, everybody's parchments went flying off their desks and into Flitwick's hands. He wished everyone a good day and dismissed them. Hana, Noah and Severus regrouped outside the classroom as the students were filing out. They headed outside and towards the courtyard.

"You looked like you were writing an essay, mate," Noah said to Severus.  
"Who knows how the teachers are going to grade," Severus replied. "I'd rather put in all the information and be sure."  
"Does that mean I had to write full sentences?" Hana asked, scratching her temple. "I had more of a bullet-point approach. Think that'll do?"  
"Think what'll do?" Lily said. She'd suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and followed the other three to their final destination.   
"Yukimura's going to fail her exam," Severus stated.  
"Oi! Am not!"

* * *

The countryside bathed in brilliant summer sunlight was much more interesting than the exam Hana was supposed to be completing. She'd managed to grab a window seat in the minuscule History of Magic class, but it was probably not the greatest of ideas. Hana couldn't concentrate for the life of her. Instead, she kept turning her head towards the window, watching the students run across the grounds and happily eat lunch together by the lake. Merlin's beard she wanted lunch... Thank god for Noah though, as he'd occasionally kick one of the legs on her chair to bring her back to reality. And even though a few of her answers might have been botched, Hana completed the exam with him and Severus almost an hour later.

"Finally, it's done!" she exclaimed happily, throwing herself into the grass. Hundreds of white dandelion seeds flew into the air. "No more exams!"  
"Stop rolling in that, would you?" Severus complained after sputtering out a seed.

Noah, Severus, Lily and herself had gathered in the formation of rocks above the Gamekeeper's hut after their last exam of the term. Noah and Lily were playing with the girl's camera, and Severus was following behind them as to not be captured in any sort of photos.

"And just think," Lily added. She snapped a picture of Hana rolling around in the grass and Severus waving the seeds away from his face. "We'll be done our first year at Hogwarts at the end of the week."  
"We'll be receiving our grades by then, right?" Noah asked, picking some seeds from his hair. "They won't be sent to my house directly?"  
"For the hundredth time, Noah. Yes, we receive our grades on the last day."  
"Good, good. Can't have my mother seeing that I'm useless at flying a broom."  
"It's just flying," Severus said with a shrug. "It's dumb anyway."  
"Dumb, but fun," Hana corrected.  
"Just dumb."  
"Boy, I'll throw you a bouquet of these bloody weeds."

The banter went on for a while until Lily got seriously concerned and intervened. Hana merely burst into laughter and Severus rolled his eyes, the beginning of a smirk on his face. Noah jumped in and reignited it by throwing the aforementioned bouquet of dandelion seeds up into the air, and then Lily gave up. She sat back and watched the sort of chaotic verbal dance that was their banter. White seeds fluttered down and landed into everyone's hair and some, caught in the wind, flew off to god knows where on Hogwarts' grounds.

Sooner or later though, the banter slowed and the laughter came to an end. It had become all too real that their first year of school was over and that they'd have to spend an entire summer apart. Hana couldn't speak for anyone else, but she wasn't looking forward to it. Hogwarts had been more of a home than her own this past year, and she was definitely not eager to return to it. If her father was home - which Hana didn't expect would be much - the time spent in his presence wouldn't be all that pleasant, and while she would have Haru to keep her company, it wouldn't be nearly as satisfying as spending time with her friends.

"Summer's going to be lonely."  
"I'll write to you every day," Lily said, bringing the girl out of her thoughts. "I'll even write to you twice a day! I'll write to you when I eat and when I brush my teeth-"  
"When you go to the loo..."  
"Exactly! That way you- wait. Hana!"


	20. A Long Summer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey ya'll - 
> 
> Lucky you! Another chapter! But that's beside the point.
> 
> Before diving into this chapter, I want to let you know that I WILL be incorporating certain elements of the game Hogwarts A Mystery into my story, namely the Cursed Vaults. I feel like it's a rather important piece of Harry Potter lore that I can't just ignore. Besides, there's nothing in the OG series to refute it - so what have I got to lose but my dignity?
> 
> This is where I ask y'all for advice, not because I need it, but because it's such a 'controversial' thing, I wanted you guys to help me decide how to write it. I have my own ideas of course, and I've already written a chapter introducing the Vault of Ice, but I want you guys to like it - so your input would be SUPER DUPER appreciated! Also, you get to influence the story so, bonus.
> 
> Anyway, leave me a comment or send me a message if you want to give me any ideas.
> 
> And now - enjoy the chapter!
> 
> 🌸 🌸 🌸

The mountains were silhouetted against a crimson sky and the air smelled of the lake. There was no arguing or the loud chattering of students; there was only the birdsong carried through the air. It was because of this that Hana knew she was up early. Haru was sleeping peacefully at the foot of her bed, and he stirred when the girl got up. She scratched his head on her way to the bathroom for a shower and exited just as the sun rose halfway in the sky. Her head turned up to the ceiling, and the painted stars told her that it was an hour before her final breakfast at Hogwarts this year.

Heaving a sigh, Hana dragged out her trunk and dropped it onto her bed. She quietly apologised to Haru for waking him, and then began packing. Her clothes went in first, folded neatly and organised by type. Hana blew out the candles to her mother's shrine and packed them beside her clothes after dumping the hot wax in the sink, and her mother's picture went on top. The polaroids that Lily had given her went in as well, as did a few souvenirs Hana had collected along the way at Quidditch games or from older students returning from Hogsmeade. She had to sit on her trunk for it to close and Haru watched Hana struggle, seemingly amused, until she succeeded. Hana put all of her school things in her backpack, and listened to it all crash and tumble inside - the undetectable extension charm the bag came with was useful but did nothing for the organisation.

"You're up early," Noah mumbled upon waking, face still pressed against his pillow. "Did you sleep?"  
"Yes, I did. Would've liked to sleep in at least past sunrise though," Hana replied. "Had time to pack though."  
"What time is it?"

Hana looked to the ceiling.

"Breakfast is in twenty minutes."  
"All right."

Noah rolled out of bed and fluffed his already messed up hair. He groaned as he saw it in the mirror, then disappeared into the bathroom. Hana chuckled and scratched the top of Haru's head. When he'd decided he'd had enough, he hopped off the bed and disappeared out of the dorm room. Hopefully, he'd meet her at the carriages later.

When Noah came out of the bathroom, he packed whatever he had left to pack, and headed for the door. Both of them took a moment to look around at their dorm and smiled at each other.

"We'll be back soon enough," Hana said.

Going down to breakfast was a chore. Getting through the Common Room was a sport, as Hana and Noah had to avoid all the seventh years saying goodbye to each other and the over-attached girls who were parting for a single summer. Then getting through the hallways filled with students running around trying to collect the last of their items that people had hidden as a bad joke was another chore that Hana could have gone without. But soon enough, the two Ravenclaw made it to the Great Hall just in time for Dumbledore's End-of-Term speech.

"Another year has gone," he said cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully, your heads are a little fuller than they were, but now is the time to get them nice and empty again before the next year starts... I wish you all a particularly pleasant summer, and to those that are graduating, a particularly pleasant and bright future."

Dumbledore began to clap slowly, and then the entire hall erupted into cheers. The House Cup had been awarded to Hufflepuff this year, so the banners above swiftly changed from grey to black and yellow. The feast appeared moments later onto the table and every single student dug in for their last feast of the year or their last Hogwarts feast ever. Noah and Hana had some of the English specialities instead of their usual meals, and they chatted with everyone about their plans for the summer.

Hundreds of rolled up parchments went out to the students below, except for the fifth and seventh years, who would have to wait until the first or second week of July to receive their O.W.L and N.E.W.T results. However, for everyone else, they could be relieved or disappointed immediately. Hana and Noah received 'Outstanding' marks in all but History of Magic and Flying class respectively, where they both received an 'Exceeds Expectations' instead.

When the feast had ended, everyone begrudgingly made their way towards the carriages. It wasn't the first time that the First-Years took the carriages down to Hogsmeade station, but the creatures that pulled the carriages never ceased to amaze Hana. Noah said she was crazy, that the carts pulled themselves, but the girl knew otherwise. She could never pull these creatures from her imagination. She supposed they were horses, by the general shape of them, but there was something reptilian about them too. They were completely fleshless, their black coats clung to their skeleton, of which every bone was visible. Their heads were almost like those of dragons, or at least the dragons Hana had seen in books, and their pupil-less eyes were completely white and staring. Wings sprouted from each side of their body, and they were huge, black leathery things that looked as though they ought to be on giant bats. Standing like this, even in broad daylight, the creatures look eerie and sinister, but Hana found them intriguing and quite beautiful in their own way.

Hana was soon distracted by Haru who'd finally showed up since earlier, and he curled up onto Hana's lap when she and Noah sat down in the carriages. James, Sirius and Remus joined them moments after, and it became the noisiest cart going down to the station. They exchanged addresses, for owling purposes, and joked and sang like children all the way down. Sirius made horrible impressions of all the professors, James pulled out and played with a golden snitch he'd apparently nicked last quidditch match, and Remus, as usual, made sarcastic comments about both of them all the while reading his book. Noah joined in on the impressions, imitating professor Slughorn quite well, and Hana sat back and had a good laugh, all the while petting Haru.

The idiocies continued all the way down and even as they attempted to find an empty compartment. They tossed the snitch between each other and made themselves trip in the hallway. They'd bumped into quite a few students, which Hana apologized to on everyone else's behalf, and nearly bought everything off the trolley before anyone else could get a chance to. Once their compartment found, the five friends found themselves in a sweets-induced hysteria, completed with songs and dances and odd jokes that involved Sirius' mum and a hippogriff.

About halfway through the journey, Haru had had enough and slipped away through the doors he'd managed to somehow pry open. A few minutes after, Hana decided to do the same. She said goodbye to James, Sirius and Remus, giving them each a strong hug and a few back slaps that nearly knocked the air out of her, and gave a more gentle hug to Noah, which he gladly returned.

Hana went on the hunt for Haru, and she suspected that she would find him at the same place her other friends were at. Looking for a particular compartment, she weaved through a few paper aeroplanes, a few fourth years giggling in the hall, and even avoided a particularly good attempt at a tickling hex. Hana dodged another few students and went passed a few doors before slamming one open.

"Hello, children!" she shouted happily.  
"Hana!" Lily shouted, just as happy.  
"Can you both be quiet?" Severus sighed.  
"Oh, shut up, grumpy," Hana chuckled, closing the door behind her.  
"We were wondering when you'd arrive," Lily said. "Haru's already made himself comfy."

Hana turned and spotted Haru curled up beside Severus.

"Haru, you traitor."

The cat offered up a simple meow as explanation and went back to his nap. Hana went to sit next to him and coax Haru to her lap, but he wasn't having any of it and stuck to Severus like glue.

"Can you disinherit a cat, you think?" Hana asked.  
"Oh come on, just let him be," Lily laughed.  
"Yes, please, you're disturbing my reading," Severus said.

Hana stuck her tongue out at Severus and he did the same, much to Lily's amusement.

"Oh, guys, stay like that, I want a picture of you two!"  
"No," Hana and Severus said simultaneously.  
"Where is Noah when you need him?" Lily sighed.

She tried to get a picture out of Hana and Severus for a while, but neither of them gave in. Instead, she moved on to asking for Hana's address for her to send mail, and she wrote one down for Severus too, sticking the small bit of parchment in the pages of his book. Hana and Lily went on to talk for hours, about normal girl things and their plans for the summer. Both of them suddenly got interested in the landscape going by, and they stood from their seats to go look out the window. Hana had the brilliant idea of bringing down the top half, letting the wind inside their compartment. Severus complained about his pages turning, but looking up to his two friends giggling with their hair in the wind, he quieted down. Hana and Lily only turned back around when they heard the sound of a camera shutter, and they found Severus with Lily's camera in hand.

"Oh, so you can take pictures?" Lily teased, snatching back her camera.  
"My face wasn't in it, so I don't care," Hana said, closing the window.  
"I wouldn't want to take a picture of your face anyway," Severus said deadpan.

Hana eyed him for a second, before laughing.

"I'm not even mad."  
"You two are impossible," Lily sighed. She looked at the picture. "You know, it's actually good."  
"Is it?" Hana asked. "Is Severus actually competent?"  
"Hilarious," Severus said, rolling his eyes.

It turned out that Severus was actually competent, and that the picture was actually nice. Lily and Hana had a short debate of who would keep the picture until Hana just snatched it and gave it to Severus. He looked at her funny, but took the picture anyway, and put it with the piece of parchment with Hana's address on it. The rest of the trip went smoothly. Haru kept sleeping, pressed against Severus' leg, the boy kept reading, not paying much attention to the cat hair that was accumulating on his clothes, and Lily and Hana went through nearly hundreds of pictures that she'd taken throughout the year, and they sorted them to figure out who was keeping which.

The view of London came too soon. Neither of the three friends wanted to return home. Of course, Lily and Severus lived nearby each other and could spend time together whenever they wanted, but Hana was returning to Cambridge, far from any of her friends. Severus and Lily lived somewhere around Birmingham, Remus and James lived far off in Devon, Sirius' house was in the middle of London and Noah lived in Bristol. The closest of her friends was Sirius, but even then, he was nearly two hours away by train.

Slowly, the students began pouring out of the train. The wind howled and students climbed out and collected their baggage. Friends were saying their goodbyes with hugs or playful punches, and the graduates stood tall and proud unlike everyone else, ready to tackle the world. Soon they all went through the magical barrier of 9 ¾, and the crowd began to thin. Hana, Lily and Severus went through the barrier together, and to where Lily's parents were waiting for her. Hana didn't spot her father, and Severus seemed to be searching for someone as well.

"It's fine Lily," Hana said. "My dad will be here soon - he said so himself. If not I'll just take the last train home."  
"Are you sure? Because remember my mother said that you could stay whenever you wanted, right?" Lily said, concerned.

Hana was tempted by the offer, but she had confirmed with her father that he'd be there to pick her up. If he showed up and she wasn't there, she'd be in for an earful.

"I'm fine Lily, don't worry."  
"All right..." she said quietly. "Sev? Your mother's coming right?"  
"Yes, she is."  
"Okay. Well, have a good summer you two," Lily said, hugging both of her friends. "Write, okay?"  
"Yes, mum," Hana joked.

Hana and Severus watched Lily run off towards her parents, and soon they disappeared into the late-night crowd of King's Cross station. Hana heaved a sigh and found a bench to sit down on. Haru, sensing something wasn't right, hopped up onto her lap and began to purr.

"Oh, now you want to love me, huh?" Hana chuckled, scratching her cat's head.

Severus sat down beside her and pulled out his book again.

"Expecting to wait a while?"  
"My mother said she was coming, but not at what time," Severus said quietly. "Your father?"  
"I told him what time I was arriving," Hana said with a sigh. "He never got back to me."

There was a moment in which neither of them spoke. Hana's mind was focused on the train sounds nearby and Haru's purring. Her head was hanging back, and she could see the stars through the glass ceiling of the train station. Hana turned her head towards Severus.

"What're you reading?"  
"Dune. It's science-fiction."  
"Can I read with you?"

Severus sighed, seemingly annoyed, but he still turned the book just enough for them both to read. Hana had no idea what was happening or who these people were or where they were from, but it was better than listening to the dreaded silence of an empty train station. They'd managed to go through a few chapters before a popping sound disrupted their reading. A short blonde woman was walking their way, and she seemed to be in a hurry. She was thin and a little hunched, and she would have been rather pretty if she didn't look so tired.

"Severus, come. Your father is waiting."

There was a split second of panic on Severus' face before he stood up and collected his things. Just as he was about to leave, he turned to Hana.

"I'll write," he said simply.  
"Don't feel forced," Hana said with a small smile. "Have a good summer, Severus."

The boy hesitated.

"Go. I'll be fine."  
"Right."

Hana smiled gently at Severus and watched him jog over to his mother. He barely had grasped her hand when the woman Apparated, leaving Hana alone once again.

This was going to be a lonely summer.


	21. Letters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shit yo, I forgot to update on Monday!! Welp, here's the chapter - better late than never! ❤️

_Dear Hana,_

_Guess where I'm writing you from? Remember that cottage I talked about, well that's where I am. Next year I'll bring you here for sure! The views are spectacular and there's so many things to do! Tuney and I went fishing, and my mum and dad brought us to town for some sweets earlier today. I'll make you try some of their sherberts when you come - best in the world!_

_I hope you're having a good summer so far. Hopefully, your father is there and you can spend some time with him._

_Write back as soon as you get this!_

_Much love,_

_Lily_

* * *

_Hey Hana,_

_Remember when I asked you to sniff my hair when we got back from Christmas? Well, I think I'm going to have to ask you again. My aunt and whole bunch of other family members have come over for the week, and I swear the entire house smells like _lǎo tàitài_. I don't think any amount of showering is going to get this out._

_On the bright side, my brother's finally moved out of the house which means I got a bigger room! More space for me to do nothing in, much to my mother's discontent. _

_Anyway, write back ASAP! I want to know if your dad is being a _húndàn_ as usual._

_PS: My mother is convinced my hair is the start of my teenage rebellion._

Yīqiè hǎo_,_

_Noah_

* * *

_Snowflake!_

_Save me from this hell._

_I swear, next summer I'm bumming one of your spare rooms because my house is a definite no-go. My mother is crazier than usual what with this Lord Voldy nonsense going on, and my dad is gone half the time for reasons I'd rather not know. Plus, they've both been raving about Regulus going to Hogwarts next year._

_I know you said your dad wasn't there often, but hopefully, you're still spending time well. _

_Write back soon, and hopefully, you'll attach a portkey to get me outta here._

_PS: Regulus is my brother. Forgot to mention._  
_PPS: Can you even read my handwriting?_

_Sirius_

* * *

_Yo Hana,_

_Has Sirius been sending you an obsessive amount of letters? I've been getting a few a week, at least. Think we should cooperate and babysit him in turn next summer? _

_My summer's going great, thanks for asking. My mum and dad are feeling a bit under the weather, but they've still taken me to a whole bunch of places in the countryside. Got in some broom practice, so you're going to have to step up your game if you're going to best me at Quidditch._

_Also, do you think you could tell me how Lily's doing? I know you're writing to her, don't try to hide it._

_Hope your dad isn't being a complete wanker,_

_James Potter_

* * *

_Dear Hana,_

_Before I get into the letter, I want to reassure you that my transformations have been going on without a hitch. Well, with the least hitches possible. I also want to thank you for not telling anyone about it. And yes, I know you're right - James and Sirius will find out eventually._

_Anyway, other than that small inconvenience, my summer is nice. Been doing a lot of reading and helping out my mum with her garden. I think I come back dirtier from that than my monthly problem if I'm being honest. She's invested._

_I hope your summer is fairing well, and that your father has deemed you worthy of some quality time, as you'd put it. If not, then tell me, and I'll send you some of my favourite books to read to kill time._

_Hope you'll write soon,_

_Remus_

* * *

_Yukimura,_

_I've been plagued by boredom which is why I've stooped so low as to write to you._

_I haven't the faintest idea what to tell you other than the fact I've completed my reading of Dune. I suppose I can give you a summary of the ending if you insist, even though I doubt you'll comprehend any of it. If I may ask something of you, could you send me that book you were reading on the train back? It seemed rather interesting._

_I also, for some reason, feel the need to address my abrupt departure from you at the train station. As you might have figured, my father isn't a very patient man. Any sort of delay would have been an issue blown out of proportion. I do hope for your sake that your father came to retrieve you as planned and that you did not have to resort to taking the midnight train. I'm well aware of the oddities that lurk there. _

_If you have any inclination to write back, then I suppose you're at liberty to do so, but don't feel forced. I'll be quite all right._

_Regards,_

_S. S._


	22. Boredom

Her friends' letters were but a temporary distraction to the dreadful summer Hana was having. Once every few days she'd get a letter from Sirius, begging him to free him from his home, and a few times a month she was graced with a letter from someone else. Honestly, Hana would have loved to get Sirius out of his house and bring him over. If they were going to be bored out of their minds, Hana thought it'd at least be a little bit better if they were together. 

It was now mid-August, and since Hana had gotten home, she'd calculated that her father had been home for a total of 53 hours. Most of those hours spent at home were for sleep, and Hana would often wake up to the loud popping noise of Apparition at one, two, three o'clock in the morning. Sometimes there wouldn't be another pop until the crack of dawn the next morning, but oftentimes another pop was heard in less than thirty minutes after arrival, and Akira Yukimura was gone again.

Once a week, Hana would take the bus or train to London and head to Gringotts to get some galleons exchanged for Muggle currency, and went all the way back to Cambridge to grocery shop. Sometimes she'd stop by Flourish and Blotts to get herself a new book to read, or to Florean Fortescue's for a well-deserved bowl of earl grey and lavender ice cream. At home, she'd make herself large batches of broths with the groceries she'd bought, and she'd freeze them for future use, warming it up when she ate breakfast the next day or felt like making ramen for dinner. 

After a few weeks, Hana had gotten annoyed of being cooped up inside the house, so she'd venture down the streets and walk around until her feet were about to fall off. She'd watch families out in parks together, wishing that she could be as happy as a giggling four-year-old, and she'd follow birds in the sky and wonder where they'd flown off to when she lost sight of them. She pet a lot of dogs in parks, fed a few stray cats, and even found a robin's nest in a tree she'd climbed in a park once. Those days were nice, at least until she got home and she was reminded of just how lonely she truly was. 

Part of her wanted to write to her friends more frequently like Sirius had been, but unlike him, Hana didn't want to share her loneliness or any part of its existence. She didn't want her friends to worry, to pity - and so she spent her evenings rereading old letters and sipping green tea on her window-seat, covered in a thick blanket. It got even worse on the days it rained and Hana had to maintain the leaky roof. Pots and buckets would be scattered everywhere, and Hana had to make sure not to trip on any, which she did. 

On one particularly rainy day, Akira had come home at a most unusual time. It was nearly midday, and Hana was preparing herself some lunch with Haru rubbing himself against her shins. The pop had surprised her, and her knife slipped, blood blooming across her fingertips. 

"Kuso!" Hana cursed loudly.

She dropped the knife and turned the stovetop off before dashing to the bathroom, clutching her bloody hand in the other. She rinsed it off and took a god look at the wound. It wasn't too deep, but enough so that any muggle would tell her she'd need stitches. Instead, Hana reached into the cabinet above the sink and grabbed some Essence of Dittany. She let a few drops fall onto the cut and winced in discomfort. It burned a little, but the bleeding had stopped, and now a scar was there in place of the wound, looking neat and several days old. 

"There's blood on my floors."

Hana withheld a sigh. Her father was standing in the doorframe, looking unimpressed. It took her quite a bit of self-restraint to not mouth off at him.

"Gomen'nasai, Otōsan," she said politely. "I didn't expect you to come home at this hour. The Apparition sound surprised me and my knife slipped."  
"Clean it up."  
"Hai, Otōsan."

When Akira left, Hana grabbed a rag and wet it, then made her way back to the kitchen, wiping the floor as she went. She cleaned up the counter and tossed out everything that the blood had touched. When Hana returned to resume her cooking, Akira was seated at the dining room table, newspaper in hand. Haru was on the sofa, eyeing him viciously from afar, and it took everything for Hana not to laugh and to the same. 

"Would you like for me to make you a portion, Otōsan?"  
"That won't be necessary," he said curtly. "Just make me some tea."  
"Matcha?"

Akira grunted in response. Hana took a deep breath and forced a smile, then turned on the stovetop again. She put the kettle on and resumed the boiling of her broth, then busied herself to cut up bits of tofu, green onion and wakame. Hana swiftly turned around and pulled out a small bowl and bamboo whisk, then a tin of matcha powder. She dropped a spoonful of the tea into the bowl, and when the water was just under a boil, she added some to the power. Hana whisked vigorously until the liquid was frothy, and brought it to her father. He took a sip, paused, and set the bowl back down. Relieved that the tea seemed to be fine, Hana bowed politely and returned to her lunch. When the broth was simmering, she added the wakame and a spoonful of white miso. A few minutes later, the green onions, and just before serving she added the tofu. 

When Hana turned to sit at the table, Akira was gone, his tea finished and his newspaper on the table. The girl sighed, more of relief rather than disappointment. Her father made her nervous, and any little misstep could cause an outrage. Last time that had happened, things didn't end well. Hana washed the tea bowl and put it away, then sat down to quietly enjoy her soup.

"When will this summer end, Haru?" Hana muttered to the feline across the room. He provided a meow as an answer. "Yeah... not soon enough."

A few moments later, a pop was heard upstairs, and Akira was gone again. 

"Bye dad, maybe I'll see you before my second year starts..."

Haru made a noise.

"Yeah, I don't think so either."


	23. September 1st, 1972

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, lovelies - friendly reminder that I do not speak Japanese or Mandarin. I'm learning Korean, but that's beside the point. The point is that I use an online translator for all the native speaking. If there are any corrections you want to give me, feel free and I'll make the changes. I'm always open to learning. Thanks a mil'~

The peace of King's Cross station was shattered by a twelve-year-old girl and her feline companion, running down the platform at incredible speed. She whooped into the air, a shrunken trunk in one hand, her blue coat sticking out against the grey London station. Heads turned, a man complained, another child mimicked her enthusiasm. Asking Hana to calm down would be like trying to tell a fire not to burn. Her eyes were alight, her every muscle needed to move, to dance, to jump. 

Today was September First, 1972: her return to Hogwarts.

Finally, the dreadful summer that Hana had suffered had come to an end. There would be no more silence-filled rooms or atrocious tense meetings with her father, nor would there be letters instead of her friends' presence. She was mere moments away from returning to them, and her dorm, the feasts and the beautiful grounds of Hogwarts castle. She'd be returning to classes, which she'd never admit to being excited about, and returning to seeing Slughorn's moustache twitch above his mouth like a caterpillar. This year was the year she'd try out for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, or maybe even the Frog Choir - so many things set her mind alight, and even more so when the scarlet red steam engine came into view.

Haru weaved through everyone's feet and hopped onto the train without Hana, and she returned her trunk to its regular size before heading off down the platform in search of people she knew. There were many heads of hair that she recognised, many new faces and a few people that she couldn't see, having graduated this past June. But through it all, Hana finally spotted an un-tamed head of jet black hair, and she ran towards it like her life depended on it. A single foot away, Hana jumped and tackled the person, trapping him in a bone-crushing hug. 

"_Shéi shì_\-- Hana!" Noah said, turning around to hug her back. "You're alive!"  
"I know!" Hana said with a laugh. "You'd think the boredom would have killed me."  
"Well, I'm glad it didn't."

Hana and Noah remained attached by the arm as they searched for their other friends. However, the Gryffindor boys weren't on the platform, and neither were Severus or Lily. So, Hana and Noah decided to stop their search for the moment and get a compartment. Thankfully, Haru had saved them a compartment, hissing at anybody who tried to enter. Just as the two friends were about to settle in, a loud bang came at the door, and Hana and Noah whipped around, startled. Screaming came from both sides of the door as Remus, Sirius and James shouted excitedly upon seeing the two Ravenclaws, and they too began shouting happily. They had a bit of problems opening the door, their fingers fumbling around the handle, but they managed to pry it open eventually, and they all clasped each other tightly, hugging out all the loneliness of their bodies. Hana nearly stopped breathing from all the back claps and tight squeezes, but she wouldn't have had it any other way. 

"You're alive!" Hana and Sirius loudly exclaimed at each other.   
"Barely!" Sirius said. "I swear, my mother was _this_ close to murdering me."  
"Well, I was _this _close to murdering myself," Hana chuckled. "_Imaimashī_... I'm never spending an entire summer alone again - I'm going to go crazy."  
"That bad?" Remus asked as they all sat down for the train ride.   
"In the 69 days of summer break - that's like over 1600 hours - my father was home only 86 out of those 1600 hours. He was home for three days out of 69! Three! All I had was Haru, and he's not much for conversation."

Haru meowed indignantly. Hana rolled her eyes at him.

"I was locked in my room most of the summer," Sirius said. "Bought some muggle things to make my parents mad. I only came down for meals, and then I'd get an earful. Regulus, _this_; Voldemort, _that _\- it was horrible!"

James placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Snowflake, can I bum one of your rooms this summer?"  
"_Mondainai_. But I'll still ask my dad," Hana sighed. "He won't answer me, of course, but at least he won't be able to get mad if you're there."  
"Sweet!"  
"Or you can stay with me," James said. "And you can come too, Snowflake. We've got tons of empty rooms."  
"Oh, she won't go anywhere," Noah said airily. "I already asked her and she said she _didn't want to impose_."  
"But I don't!" Hana chuckled. "I have so much stuff - I don't want to spread! I'm like a disease!"  
"You've got towers of books, not towers of viruses," Remus laughed.  
"Yeah, that's a disease," James and Sirius agreed.

Hana smacked both boys upside the head, but they all laughed. James, Remus and Noah lightened up the mood by telling everyone what they did during the summer. Hana was slightly irked to find out that James had been practising his broom riding skills and that he'd potentially gotten better, but pleased to find that Noah's mother was content with the boy's grades. Remus talked forever about his mother's garden and the books he'd read, James told everyone about the cottage he visited during summer break, and Noah spoke once again about his relatives and a few funny stories about them which involved a Kneazle and his great aunt Ming; Hana couldn't comprehend how a woman could be mistaken for one at all, but it was hilarious nonetheless.

A few hours went by, and Hana snuck out of the compartment on her search for other people. Haru followed her out, weaving through legs and other pets loose about the train. A few fanged frisbees went by Hana's head, and she caught a chocolate frog hopping out of a compartment and onto her head. The trolley lady passed by a few seconds later, and with the chocolate frog assault still in mind, she bought a few for herself as well a couple of liquorice wands and pumpkin pasties. Hana was halfway through a pastie when Haru disappeared, and she looked around for a compartment containing Lily Evans and Severus Snape. 

Hana made a move to dodge a spell, but as she did so she rammed into a boy, who fell over.

"Oi, would you watch where you're pointing that thing!" she scolded the Hufflepuff. "On another note, nice hex."

Hana high-fived the girl as she passed, then turned around to help up the boy she'd knocked over. He was rather short and had mousy brown hair.

"Sorry about bumping into you," she said, extending a hand. "Seems to be a habit of mine."

The girl frowned and rolled her eyes. She wouldn't tell this to Severus _or _Lily.

"Oh- Oh, it's okay," the boy muttered. He seemed rather nervous to take Hana's hand, but he tugged himself up eventually. "I wasn't l-l-looking."  
"Daijōbudesuka?"

The boy blinked a few times.

"That wasn't English was it?" Hana said, scratching her chin. The boy shook his head. "Well, you look fine to me, I don't need to ask again, right?"  
"Oh, that's what that was..."  
"Right. Yeah, you're fine," Hana said, suddenly quite chipper. "Well, I'll see you around!"

Hana smiled brightly and moved passed the boy, and her expression turned from happy to confused. She flicked herself on the forehead and muttered to herself:

"_Dono yō ni shite eigo to nihongo o mazemashita ka, Hana? _"1

With her self-deprecation out of the way, Hana resumed her search for Lily and Severus, eventually finding them at the very end of the very last compartment on the train. She had no idea how Haru managed to get all the way there, nor why he always seemed to stick to Severus like he was hit with _Pellentesque2_, but when Hana opened the compartment door Haru was all over him again. Her attention was immediately drawn from her traitor cat and onto Lily, who'd jumped up and almost screeched upon seeing her.

"Hana!"  
"Lily!"   
"Would you two be quiet?"

Hana stuck her tongue out at Severus and continued squealing with Lily for another good five minutes, expressing to each other how much they'd missed one another and also just to spite the boy that was with them. 

"It's good to see you too, Severus," Hana said with a small laugh.  
"I didn't say I was pleased to see you," Severus replied, keeping his nose in _Death in Midsummer and Other Stories_.  
"Lily, remind me why I missed him?"

Lily shrugged and laughed.

"How's my book?" Hana asked, seating herself beside Severus.  
"I'm only halfway through."  
"Yes, but I sent that to you over a month ago. You finished a book twice that size in under a week. Are you rereading it?"

There was a moment of silence, and then a quiet grumble. Hana smiled.

"Which story was your favourite?"  
"Patriotism," Severus replied simply.  
"_Ā, sore wa ī ne!_ I like Death in Midsummer the best, though."  
"I guess I'll have to borrow that after, then," Lily said with a small chuckle. "Seems good."  
"Sure. Well, that's if Severus will let you have it."

Severus rolled his eyes and sighed, closed the book and then tossed to Lily. Both girls laughed.

"Oh, how was your summer, by the way?" Hana asked her friends.

Haru made a noise and Hana began to pet him absent-mindedly.

"Oh, it was nice!" Lily said with a smile. "We went to our cottage down in the Cotswolds, and we went hiking and to the wildlife park. And my parents went over to the distillery one night so I got the cottage to myself. It was great. Shame I didn't get to see you or Severus, though."

A small sense of relief washed over Hana and she felt almost guilty for it, but Lily and Severus not seeing each other during the summer was a small comfort - at least she hadn't been the only one to be alone. 

"Sev?"  
"My summer was uneventful," the boy said. "I read, studied for Potions."  
"Thrilling," Hana said sarcastically.  
"I suppose your summer was much more eventful?"  
"Oh, no. I understand your pain. My father was home for a grand total of three days, the only conversation I had was with Haru and through letters, I've reread my textbooks enough times to recite them all, and I think I've finally learned how to speak Mandarin properly. _Wǒ shuō de duì ma?_"

Hana sunk back into her seat and frowned.

"_Děng děng... Nǐ zěnme zhīdào? _"3 she mumbled to herself.  
"Well, at least your summer was productive," Lily said.  
"Yes, but, Lily, I'm twelve years old. I don't want a productive summer, I want a fun one - a memorable one. I learned Mandarin because I was bored."  
"Maybe next summer you can learn Yiddish," Severus said sarcastically.  
"Yiddish!?" 

* * *

Hana's focus was scattered. She was so filled with anticipation, excitement, giddiness - she couldn't even hold a conversation with Lily and Severus beside her. Haru was meowing in a concerned manner, looking up at her, but Hogwarts Castle was in front of Hana, and it made her heart soar and her mind wander. She'd missed the twinkling lights, the lake, even the Thestrals that were pulling the carriages towards the school. Hana couldn't wait to start learning new things, to absorb as much information as her brain would allow.

Walking into the Great Hall, Hana's eyes wandered up to the candles and enchanted ceiling, and they sparkled with wonder. Ahead, Dumbledore was smiling in his seat, eyes shining behind his glasses. All the professors were seated in their usual spots, and they smiled at the returning students as they filed in. 

Hana waved to Lily and Severus before heading over to the Ravenclaw table, where she found Noah. A few moments later, a group of students in black robes walked in, looking nervous and excited. It was the new First Years, and Hana couldn't help but smile. Had she looked like this last year when _she _was sorted? New students joined the Ravenclaw table, a few Hufflepuffs were sorted, a couple of nasty looking kids were sorted into Slytherin, and a few others were put into Gryffindor, like that boy Peter Hana had met on the train, although it had taken him a full five minutes to get sorted. He sat beside Sirius, Remus and James, and the four of them immediately got to talking. Then Dumbledore stood and said a few words, and the feast began.

"Oh, I hope we have classes together," Hana said, tucking into some roast beef.  
"We need to have History of Magic together this time," Noah said. "If we don't I'm going to go mad."  
"Well, Mr Xiang, I think you'll be all right."

Hana and Noah looked over towards the voice and found professor Flitwick handing out timetables. They hurriedly grabbed them and scanned their contents.

"What classes have we got together?" Hana asked.  
"I'm glad to announce that I won't be dying this year - we've got History of Magic together," Noah said with a smile.  
"_Shitte yokatta._"4  
"Oh, we've also got Transfiguration, Herbology and Astronomy together."  
"Yes! That means we can get excessively good scores in Transfiguration and put everyone else to shame!"

Professor Flitwick came back around on his way to the staff table, and Hana called out to him.

"Yes, Miss Yukimura?"  
"Would be possible to apply for a few extra-curricular activities?" Hana asked.  
"Oh, of course!"

A roll of parchment suddenly appeared from the professor's sleeve, as did a quill, and he looked at her expectantly.

"I'd like to apply for the open Seeker position on our House team."  
"Oh, good," Flitwick said happily.  
"I would also like to apply or at least try out for the Frog Choir. I don't know if you're going to hold auditions or..?"  
"Oh, yes, yes! A few students in the Choir graduated last year - there are many open positions. Should I put you down to try out for a lead or backup?"  
"Both. It'll make better odds," Hana said with a smile. "That's all, professor. Dōmo arigatōgozaimashita!"  
"You're very welcome, dear."

The Ravenclaw Head of House left, a little spring in his step, and Hana returned to eating.

"Both the Choir _and _Quidditch?" Noah asked, seemingly concerned. "Do you think you'll have time for all that _plus_ your studies, Hana?"  
"Please," Hana scoffed. She shovelled a pile of mash into her mouth. "I could do all this and more while blindfolded and with my hands tied behind my back."  
"Only because you've read too many murder mystery books and you know how to get out of that kind of situation."  
"Calculated risks, my dear Noah. Calculated."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: "How did you get English and Japanese mixed up, Hana?"  
2: There wasn't any known incantation for the Sticking Charm (not the Transfiguration spell, Epoximise) so I made my own. Pellentesque is Latin for 'sticky'.  
3: Am I saying this right? / Wait... how would you know?  
4: Good to know.


	24. Comfort

Hana hadn't been at school for even two weeks, and she was already starting to feel stressed. Noah was there to point out it was her own fault, which didn't help at all, and made her even more annoyed with just about everything. Any more of this and she'd turn into Severus' doppelganger. All this stress stemmed from her choice to apply to both Quidditch and the Frog Choir. The tryouts for the team were this weekend, so were the auditions for the Choir, and Hana hadn't had any time to practise for either of them. Noah was right: she'd definitely have to chose one or the other if she was going to stay sane. The stress had made it nearly impossible to sleep too, and after her late-night Astronomy class, Hana wanted nothing more than to _Avada Kedavra_ herself this morning.

"You look particularly raving this morning, Snowflake," Sirius said casually, as Hana took a seat before him at the Gryffindor table. "What's got your wand in a knot?"  
"I haven't even tried out for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team or the Frog Choir and I'm already feeling the pressure. I hate to admit it, but Noah was right - I'll have to chose between the two," the girl said rapidly, piling one, two, three waffles onto her plate. "This is driving me mental! I'm already picturing myself failing all my classes and dying of calming draught overdose in the next few months. I can't do this, I'm only twelve for Merlin's sake!"  
"Then just try out for the team," James said, mouth full of food. "Screw the Choir."  
"I can't just _screw_ the Choir, James. I have to get to know them first."

James and Sirius burst out laughing. Noah and Remus merely rolled their eyes. Peter, the newest addition to this rowdy band of friends, said nothing, but his face went beet red a few seconds after Hana spoke.

"Look, you nearly threw a fit when Sirius and I went to find that damn piano, last year," James continued. "Are you sure you want to sing in front of the entire school when it took you everything to sing for us?"

Hana's eyebrows furrowed. He had a point. Though she _had_ sung without issue in front of Severus during the holidays.

"Look, I'll think about it," Hana said, stuffing three layers of waffle into her mouth.  
"Well, you've got two days," Noah said with a sly smirk.  
"_Bùyào tíxǐng wǒ _!"1

Hana escorted her friends to class, but remained behind, as she was one of the lucky ones who'd had Astronomy until well past midnight last night, and didn't have any scheduled classes in the morning. Of course, most students used this time to catch up on the sleep they'd missed. However, after the sweet sensation of sleep passed her by throughout the night, and her lazy feline companion had gotten up for the day, Hana stopped trying. Instead, she'd gotten up, taken a long hot shower, and headed down for breakfast a few minutes after Noah.

For now, until her class after lunch, Hana would have to occupy herself with anything she could get her hands on. There hadn't been any homework assigned yet, nor was there anything she could do to get ahead in her studies as she'd read her textbooks during the summer at least four times each. So Hana wandered out onto the grounds, aimlessly walking around, kicking rocks as she passed them. One of them returned when she passed by the lake - a Grindylow had tossed it back at her after it hit its head. She dodged it quite easily and gave the creature a half-smile before seating herself by the water.

The lake mirrored the sky above, both of them the kind of blue that coloured those impossibly bright tourist brochures. Hana closed her eyes. The breeze that ran unchecked over the rippled surface blew her long bangs from her eyes and brought colour to her pale cheeks. Without the distraction of the view, Hana could detect the scent. The humid early autumn air was fragranced with the pine trees that circled the lake. It almost felt like home, but then again, she couldn't smell the salty sea air or the wisteria that grew around her house or hear the cicadas singing in the tall grasses. A wistful smile crept up onto her lips, and she opened her eyes.

"_Itsu ka... Mata ie ni kaerimasu_."2  
"What's that mean?"

Hana was pulled from her thoughts and almost jumped at the sound of the voice. It was Severus, arms filled with books which he set down between Hana and himself as he sat down.

"Nothing. Just... thinking about home."

Severus made a small hum of understanding but said nothing.

"Did you raid the library?" Hana asked, a playful smile on her face.  
"No, just doing a bit of light reading."

Hana rose an eyebrow.

"_Light_ reading? Severus, you've got seven books here." Hana shook her head, smiling. "You're mad. What are these even about?"

Severus' head snapped towards Hana as she went to look at the books. She paused and looked at him, wondering what kind of reading could warrant such a reaction. Hana furrowed her eyebrows at him but went to look at the books regardless of the boy's nervous demeanour.

"_Magick Moste Evile_, _Curses and Counter-Curses_, _The Dark Arts: A Legal Companion_... Did you get these in the Restricted Section, Severus?"  
"Not all of them," he said, voice a little shaky.  
"Let me rephrase that. Did you _take_ them from the Restricted Section?"  
"Not... all of them."

Hana narrowed her eyes at Severus, then suddenly snatched the copy of _Magick Moste Evile_.

"Cool," the girl said with a shrug. She turned a few pages and looked sideways at Severus - he was still looking at her, nervous. "I'm not going to tell Lily, don't worry. Just as long this is purely academic, hm?"  
"W-What, of course, you dunderhead!"  
"Good." Hana turned back to the book. "Ooh, disembowelling."  
"'Ooh, disembowelling'?" Severus repeated, a little concerned.  
"Hey, just because I'm not going to disembowel, doesn't meant I can't know how to do it."  
"And _I'm_ the one who's mad?"

Hana stuck her tongue out at Severus and went back to reading. Every single paragraph in this book was enough to make Hana's skin crawl, but that didn't make it any less fascinating. The horrors of the human mind intrigued her, for more than one reason, and it took the promise of lunch to lure her away from the horrific entries of Godelot's book.

Hana let Severus stash the books in her bag with the undetectable extension charm, and on their way to lunch, both of them hoped that Madam Pince didn't make regular trips to the restricted section. Neither of them would be happy to have those books zooming straight out of Hana's bag in broad daylight.

"Oh, there you are!"

Lily greeted them in the Great Hall, and she got up from the Gryffindor table to join Hana and Severus at the Ravenclaw table.

"What were you guys up to?" she asked.  
"Reading," Severus said simply.  
"Anything interesting?"  
"Just textbooks."

It looked like it pained him to stop there. Clearly he wasn't used to keeping things from Lily.

"Yeah, we were just reading ahead for a couple classes," Hana added. "Speaking of classes, how do you like the new Defence Against the Arts teacher?"  
"I don't know," Lily said thoughtfully. "She's nice and definitely less creepy than the one we had last year, but I think she'll succumb to the curse too."  
"Curse?" Severus asked.  
"There's this rumour that the Defence Against the Dark Arts position is cursed. Something about a disgruntled student who was refused the position by the previous Headmaster and Dumbledore."  
"If I can't have it, nobody can," Hana said jokingly in a high-pitched voice. She followed it up with a mock evil laugh, which made Lily giggle. Hana bowed to the table. "Thank you, thank you."  
"Could you never do that again?" Severus said.  
"Come on, Sev" Lily chuckled. "That kind of acting deserves an Academy Award."

Hana didn't know what an Academy Award was, but judging from the look of despair on Severus' face she knew that it was far too high praise for what she'd just done.

Defence Against the Dark Arts was Hana and Severus' next class, and they both dreaded it and were excited for it. While the subject matter of the class was fascinating for them, it was the one class Hana and Severus shared with James, Sirius and Remus, which made for a tense atmosphere at the very least. To make matters worse, Hana learned that in order to be able to pay attention in class, she had to sit beside Severus. This always ended up sparking an unpleasant conversation that persisted after each Defence Against the Dark Arts Class, and into Transfiguration right after.

As usual, Severus and Hana sat in the second row and took out their textbooks. They engaged in small talk and a little bit of banter before familiar laughs filled the classroom. Severus cast a side glance at Hana, who looked anxious. She wasn't, anxious that is, but she was waiting for the bomb to drop and the drama to begin. She loved those boys to bits, but man could they be idiots. What had happened to them calming down on harassing Severus?

"Yo, Snowflake, the hell you doing over there again?"

Hana's eyes closed and she sighed deeply. A few other students had arrived, and they tried to mind their own business. They knew what was coming.

"Sirius, I don't want to get into this again," Hana said calmly. "I'm sitting with Severus, and that's the end of it."  
"Yeah, but why? Snive--"  
"_Severus_."  
"Snivellus is just going to get his grease all over you," Sirius continued, unphased.

Hana clicked her tongue and sighed, starting to get more annoyed than she'd like.

"Sirius, I am going to say this one final time, and I hope the rest of you are listening as well," Hana said, eyes glancing over to James and Remus. "I don't care if you don't like Severus. You're entitled to that. But it's one thing to dislike him, and another to be an arse about it. I won't stand for it, especially if it's coming from my friends."  
"We're just looking out for you," James said rather harshly. "He's got some weird friends, you know. Nasty looking people."  
"What's it to you!?" Severus snapped, turning to face the Gryffindors.  
"I don't want you contaminating her with your grease or your little Slytherin friends!" Sirius shouted. "She's better off without you!"  
"Enough!"

Hana's voice was loud, but it trembled halfway through. Hana nervously wrung her hands together and did so with great difficulty, as they were shaking more than any of her friends had seen before. It was the confrontation. Hana hated it. It made horrible memories resurface, and that's why she chose to deal with problems calmly, avoiding conflict altogether if possible.

Severus nearly reached out to her, but pulled his hand back at the last second, deciding against it.

"Sit down, Sirius, and stop this," Hana said, trying to make her voice sound even. "I don't want to argue with you."  
"Fine," Sirius said, casting a worried glance at the girl's hand.

She pulled her hand behind her back and looked away, willing herself to disappear immediately. Sirius shot a glare at Severus, who quickly turned back around. Hana glanced at the Gryffindor boys one last time before turning as well. As if on cue, Professor Tempesta waltzed in. Hana hid her hands underneath her desk. Maybe if she couldn't see her hands, they'd stop shaking. But it didn't make her feel any better. Her hand was still shaking, and thoughts were accelerating inside her head. She wanted them to stop, or at least to slow so she could breathe, but they wouldn't. Hana's breaths came in short quiet gasps and she felt as if she was going to black-out. Her heart was hammering, the room was spinning, she felt sick.

Something cold on her shaking hand snapped Hana back to reality. It didn't calm her by any means, but the nausea and the spinning had stopped. Not once in all her life had someone tried to calm her, or even attempt to touch the hand that shook incessantly whenever panic set in. That's what struck her the most - that someone was doing it at all.

It was uncharacteristic of Severus to comfort others, or even to want to comfort others, but he hadn't really thought it through. Before he realised what he was doing, his fingers gently wrapped themselves around Hana's hand. It was especially odd considering that he'd stopped himself from doing it earlier, but this time he couldn't stop. Hana looked down at her hand, then up at Severus, and while stoic as ever, concern shone in his eyes.

Severus almost pulled his hand away when she looked at him. All he could see was fear, panic and surprise. He almost regretted reaching out to hold her hand, though he really couldn't have done anything to stop himself. However, as soon as he'd had that thought, Hana's shaking fingers closed around his own, and his regret washed away in an instant.

For the rest of the class, even after Hana had regained serenity, their hands remained hidden underneath their desks and intertwined together, providing each other comfort. No one noticed, not even the Ravenclaw students behind them, and they liked it that way because even if asked, Hana and Severus would deny that any of this happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: Don't remind me!  
2: Someday... I'll see home again.


	25. Apologies

Today was the day.

Quidditch tryouts. Frog Choir auditions.

Hana had never bit her nails before, but there was a first for everything. Instead of eating breakfast, the Ravenclaw was chewing on her fingers. Noah had to pry her hand away for her to eat something, but even after insisting, Hana couldn't stomach anything. She was nervous beyond repair, and it didn't help that her and the Gryffindor boys hadn't made up since their altercation in Defence Against the Dark Arts on Thursday. She only had Noah to cheer her up, and he wasn't very good at it. Mostly, he was just getting annoyed that she wasn't eating.

"Hana, come on, you need to eat," he said with a sigh. "Wǒ bùyào nǐ hūndǎo."1  
"Let me pass out. At least I won't have to pick which activity to drop," Hana muttered.  
"You haven't chosen yet?"

Her hands went to her mouth again, but she flexed her fingers and put them on the table. Surprisingly, her hands weren't shaking.  
  
"No, no, no. I got it, I got it."  
"You sure?"

Hana nodded and poured herself a cup of tea. She hadn't really decided, but she'd determined that Quidditch was the better option to take, and after thinking it over, it seemed the right choice. Singing in the Frog Choir would be fun, but she didn't really want to sing in front of the whole school. It was too personal. Singing and playing music was something that she did with her mother, and in all honesty, Hana was reluctant to share that with everyone else. James was right. It had taken a lot for her to sing for them, she couldn't imagine doing it in front of the whole school.

After breakfast, which consisted of a cup of tea and a handful of berries, Hana rushed up to her dormitory and spent a few seconds answering the knocker's riddle. She grabbed her thick Ravenclaw jumper and her good pair of shoes, then ran back out and down onto the Quidditch pitch. It was larger than she remembered, or maybe it was just that she was on the field rather than looking down onto it this time. When she arrived near the stands, a fellow Ravenclaw got her into a spare uniform and tossed her some fingerless gloves to better hold onto her broom. Hana grabbed the best-looking broom off the rack and headed to the centre of the pitch where all the other candidates were waiting. 

Hana glanced around and into the stands. Noah, Lily and Severus were all sitting together, and the first two waved excitedly when Hana spotted them. Severus merely offered up a half-smile as a sign of encouragement. The Gryffindor boys were nowhere to be found. 

Hana's attention was captured by Isobel Pickerin, the Team's Captain, as soon as she started talking. She had a very commanding voice, but it wasn't harsh at all.

"All right, ladies and gents," she said. "Welcome to tryouts, old members and new blood. Before we start, I want to make one thing clear: just because you made the team last year, doesn't mean you'll make it this year. As new Captain, I need a team that I can work with seamlessly." A few people grumbled, but nothing more. "So, we're going to do this in stages. First, I want laps. I need to see if you guys can actually ride a broom and aren't just here to skive off class. Then we're going to do a speed run and I'll keep the top two for each position."

Pickerin clapped her hands together.  
  
"Okay, I want Chasers to my left, Beaters to my right, Seekers in front of me, and Keepers to start their laps. Come on, hop to it!"

The half dozen Keeper candidates shuffled around and mounted their brooms, taking off seconds later. Then Pickerin called for the Chasers to start, then the Beaters. When the Beaters went up onto their brooms, Hana mounted hers and slipped on her gloves. When the Captain called for the Seekers to go, Hana was the first off the pitch. She wouldn't have had it any other way. After all, speed was one of two major qualities of a good Seeker. 

Hana was lucky that she'd picked one of the better brooms. Some of the students, which she'd seen fly decently, were now flying sub-par because of the brooms they chose, but a few were compensating for them. When Pickerin whistled for the speed laps to start, Hana kicked it up a notch. Her broom shook, displeased with the demand for more speed, but let up after a bit of persistence. She passed all those with uncooperative brooms and even a few Beaters before the whistle blew again. 

Slowly, all the candidates flew back to the centre of the pitch. One by one, Pikerin began listing people that didn't make the cut for the preliminary tests and sent them off the pitch immediately. A few of them were old members and left grumbling, but most of them were new blood. Hana held her breath, and when the Captain finished listing names without saying hers, she let out a sigh of relief. She was safe.

"All right, now we're going to test by position," Pickerin said. "First up, Keepers. Knotley, Pike - get up there."

The two remaining Keeper candidates flew up to the rings, and for the next ten minutes, Pickerin drilled them nonstop. Hana didn't know who did better, mostly because she was too preoccupied by the other Seeker trying out for the team. He was huge, a few years older, and she knew that he was a good flyer. It didn't help that he kept staring at her. 

"All right, Knotley, you're on the team. Pike, you got reserve," Pickerin said, shooing Pike off the pitch. "Chasers, get up there."

It took a long time before the Chasers were done. They zoomed around the pitch, distracting Hana from the other Seeker for a while. Seeing them move around so fast and deftly was impressive. In the end, two new Chasers were added to the team, and both previous Chasers kicked off the team but kept as reserves. They angrily left the pitch, swearing under their breath. Hana suddenly got even more nervous.

"Beaters. Up!"

Hana watched intently while the Beaters were tested. While bludgers were rarely aimed at Seekers, Hana still wanted to analyse their movements in case one did eventually come her way, even if by some weird accident. After several minutes and a few screams of terror, Pickerin determined that the two current Beaters were best for the job, and sent the new candidates off with words of encouragement and a promise of keeping them as reserves.

Finally, it was up to the Seekers, and Hana couldn't have been any more nervous than she was now. She looked over at her friends in the stands, who all gave her a thumbs up for encouragement. While appreciated, it didn't help much. Up in the air, her opponent looked even more threatening, but Hana was determined to show him up. When Pickerin whistled and released the snitch, Hana zoomed up a few feet above her competition. He looked at her but remained where he was, scouring the skies for the shiny little golden pain in the ass. 

It took a while, and Hana was honestly starting to get bored, but she eventually spotted the snitch. She was about to dart straight for it when an idea came to mind. Instead of going directly for the snitch on her left, Hana climbed up to the right. Immediately, the other Seeker climbed up to follow her. He followed her as she rapidly circled the snitch, but after a few seconds of seeing nothing ahead, he backed off. 

Hana smiled. In an instant, she turned against her broom's wishes and veered off to the left. The other Seeker realised too late. By the time that he'd caught up to her, Hana was already racing for the snitch, fingers inches away from claiming it. He attempted to reach out to her broom, in an effort to throw her off balance, but she swerved just enough to get out of hand's reach and leaned forward for more speed. A wave of elation washed over Hana as her fingers closed around the little golden snitch and its wings stopped moving. 

Hana heard the other Seeker swear loudly, and she turned around to face him. He looked almost murderous, which only made Hana's smile grow.

"Tough luck."

She tossed the snitch in the air and caught it again, grinning. The boy rolled his eyes and went down to the pitch. Hana followed, looking over to the stands. While Severus remained seated, Lily and Noah was cheering like die-hard fans, standing up and jumping like she'd just won the Quidditch Cup. Hana laughed and shook her head.

"Idiots," she muttered under her breath.  
"Nicely done, Yukimura," Pickerin said as Hana landed on the pitch. "You're on the team. Keep the snitch as a souvenir." She leaned in to whisper. "Just don't tell Hooch."

Hana chuckled and put the snitch in her pocket.

"All right, kids!" Pickerin called. "I gotta say, well done! Got some strong new blood in here - I like it. To the oldies, you've managed to keep up - I like that too. So, here's this year's team: Knotley, Keeper. We've got myself, Latimer and Rodney, as Chasers. Eiran and Tiordan you're still my favourite Beaters. Last but not least, we've got Yukimura as Seeker."

The Team cheered.

"Now, I've already asked Flitwick to book the pitch for us every Saturday afternoon for practice."

Hana let out a sigh of relief. She wouldn't have to wake up early.

"We practise starting after lunch until dinner, no exceptions. On weekdays, pitch is free for everyone to use, but I'll be there on Thursday mornings for those who are free as well." Pickerin took a deep breath and smiled. "There's no practised scheduled for today, but be here next Saturday one o'clock sharp.  
"On a side note. Please be reminded that those of you who wish to purchase a personal broom, you are most highly encouraged. Just don't forget to get it approved and registered by Hooch before our first practice."

With that, the new and old members of the Quidditch team were dismissed. Hana shed her borrowed uniform and gloves, and put her broom back on the rack, before heading over to the stands. Lily squealed happily and hugged her tightly, congratulating her on making the team. Noah made sure to threaten her into making the team win, and Severus just had to remind her that he wouldn't visit her in the hospital wing when she got hit by a bludger.

The four friends were headed off of the pitch to go celebrate when James, Sirius and Remus descended from the far end of the stands. Lily glared at them and pulled Severus away, apologising to Hana and Noah on her way. Hana gave them a half-smile, then turned to the boys as they left.  
"When did you get here? I didn't see you in the stands."  
"We got here when you were flying after the snitch," Remus said. "It was a nice catch."  
"Thanks," Hana said, smiling a little.

James and Sirius said nothing, but after a nudge in the ribs from Remus, Sirius spoke.

"We're also here to apologise."

Hana rose an eyebrow.

"For acting like complete wankers," Remus added, looking over to the other two.  
"Right, that," James said. "We don't like Sni-- Snape, but we can't really stop you from hanging out with him."  
"Yeah, and we like you too much to let you go," Sirius said, a lopsided smile on his face. 

Hana chuckled.

"Thanks, Rem."  
"Rem!? Just Rem!? What about us!?"  
"This obviously wasn't your idea," Noah said plainly.  
"That's a fact," Remus said, smiling.  
"Oi, you've got to give us some credit!" James complained.  
"Sure, sure. I'm sure speaking words is very difficult."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: I don't want you to pass out


End file.
